The language barrier
Remember a few years ago when Andrei Kirilenko was having so many problems with Jerry Sloan?
Kirilenko’s wife said she thought it was a matter of communication. And not just the difference-of-opinion kind of communication. She said she wasn’t sure they could understand what each other was saying; it was a language barrier.
Sometimes you wonder if that’s the case with Kyrylo Fesenko. After three years with the Jazz, maybe he’s finally and fully understanding what Sloan is saying and vice versa.
I never thought much of the language barrier. I figured as long as a player can count the currency he’s banking, he’s fine. But it has to be hard to come to a different country to live, even when you’re rich. This came through forcefully when former Jazz guard Dee Brown was involved, recently, in an alleged altercation with police in Italy. According to Brown, he and teammate Chevon Troutman were coming home from dinner when Troutman got into a car accident. When police investigated, they accused Brown of putting his hands on them and then resisting arrest. Brown said in his blog that police treatment included a beating and putting their hands on him.
He also said “I think the language barrier is another thing in this story.”
Anyone who knew Dee Brown when he played for the Jazz would be highly suspicious of him being involved in any sort of fight with police. I tend to believe he’s telling the truth — it was a language problem, at least to some degree.
I intend to keep this story in mind next time I assume a foreign-born player simply isn’t listening to Sloan.