Forget about Ryan Appleby.
It seems that was the most difficult thing for most to do in Oregon’s 93-85 victory against the Washington Huskies and Appleby on Saturday after Appleby twice refused to accept a handshake from Oregon senior point guard Aaron Brooks.
The slight stems from an agreeably abhorrent incident nearly a year earlier in the Pacific-10 Conference Tournament when, in a heated, physical game, Brooks delivered what he called a retaliatory forearm to Appleby’s face, which required six stitches and added another intriguing chapter to the fervent Oregon-Washington rivalry – one that won’t be closed any time soon.
But Saturday, by refusing to accept Brooks’ hand both prior to the game and after it and by drawing the ire of the crowd, Appleby effectively made the game about himself.
Forget that Oregon now appears suddenly injected with a shot of confidence, revenged the loss that started its recent slump, or that freshman forward Joevan Catron played like the sixth man Oregon’s so desperately missed this season.
The lead storyline from this game stemmed from one player’s refusal to let bygones be bygones.
A note to Appleby: Consider the facts. No one believes Brooks’ actions of last season to be the least bit honorable. You were the victim of a violent on-court incident and Brooks deserved all the criticism he received following it.
Yet he made all the right steps to rectifying the situation. He offered you an apology letter, had to sit for four games including the ejection and has sincerely acknowledged the very regrettable mistake he made.
Now this guy wants to shake your hand a year later and you pay him no attention.
Just get over it, already.
Appleby had an opportunity to bury the hatchet Thursday – just give Brooks the high-five, forgive and forget – but he refused the peace offering.
And when you consider the resurgence of Brooks this season, mentally and in his game, and when you ponder how much Brooks is truly vital to his team, which is on the verge of an NCAA Tournament berth, you begin to see how much the Brooks who walked off the Staples Center floor after the incident (and subsequent ejection) is remarkably different from the Brooks of today.
And, yet, Appleby’s actions indicate that he believes no one can change.
So, Mr. Appleby, when Brooks torches your team for 30 points, including a couple highlight reel plays, and you continue to hold that grudge against someone who’s clearly moved on and is much better because of it…you tell me who the bad guy is.
“It was a gut reaction,” Appleby told the AP, regarding his decision not to shake Brooks’ hand. “I felt like he took a cheap shot at me last year and I felt like they didn’t penalize him the right way. I’m not going to acknowledge anybody for hitting somebody in the face like that. There’s no reason for me to acknowledge somebody like that.”
Of course it was a cheap shot, but Brooks had no involvement with sanctions that were handed down and, on Thursday, Appleby made the made the mistake that’ll cause people to question his character.
Brooks simply said, “If he didn’t want to shake my hand, that’s on him.”
Indeed it is.
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