Evans Mouths Off; Eats Words After Beatdown

Plenty of athletes have made a name for themselves after mouthing off to the media about their peers. Some of them, such as Joe Namath, have made bold predictions and backed up their words by winning the game. Others, such as the Brooklyn Nets' Reggie Evans, have made bold comments only to look like a fool after not living up to the previous words. In Evans' case, the bruiser of a center told the New York Daily News that the Miami Heat's championship, "doesn't prove nothing. It was a lockout shortened season." If that wasn't enough, he went on to say that guarding LeBron James is no different than guarding Joe Johnson or Andray Blatche.

Well, there are a lot of things I could say about Reggie Evans, but I'm sure he feels dumb enough already. After all, King James heard his comments then proceeded to put up 24 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in a 105-85 thrashing over the Nets. Evans, a role player who prides himself on doing the dirty work, scored zero points and grabbed six rebounds, none of them on the offensive end. Following the game, LeBron ripped Evans for his comments and Evans left the Barclays Center without speaking to the media.

Today, Evans did the typical move that athletes pull after putting their foot in their mouth by saying his quotes were misinterpreted. Seriously? It's pretty hard to misinterpret what Evans said and there's no way he would have claimed that he was misinterpreted had the Nets won. However, he successfully angered the greatest player in the NBA and fueled the defending champs' fire which led to his Nets getting royally spanked in their brand-new arena.

I could respect Evans if he would have stuck to his comments and said that was actually what he thought. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I could respect Evans if he gave credit to James and the Heat following the game and said they were simply better than he anticipated. However, he tried to backpedal and say that he never really meant those words he said. I cannot respect him for that at all. For a guy who acts tough on the court, he has never been more of a coward. I'm all for speaking your mind, but at least stand by your comments.

Take Randy Moss for example. There's no way in the world that Moss is the greatest receiver to ever play, but those were the comments he made and he stood by them. No matter how dumb you think he is for saying it, you have to respect him for standing next to what he said. That's at least the sign of a man. A man wouldn't try and pin his errors on someone else.

Reggie Evans is a role player. He is a guy that comes off the bench and rebounds, sets good screens and plays solid defense. He is not a game-changer, a star or a player that draws a double team. Chances are, unless you are an avid NBA fan, you probably hadn't even heard of him. That didn't stop him from attacking the best player in the league and making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Hopefully it's a lesson learned that if you are going to open your mouth then you better be ready to back up the talk. Evans looked like a fool after the loss and looked even more foolish today for trying to pin it on the media.

So while you may not have heard of Reggie Evans at the beginning of the week, chances are you will hear about him for the next few days. He can thank himself and the King for that.