National NBA Writer: Dwyane Wade is the Dirtiest Player in the NBA

The national backlash against the Miami Heat feels like it’s reaching the “The Decision”-era levels right now and it has nothing do with the circus nonsense that made LeBron James & Co. uber-Villains a few years ago.

This has everything to do with on-court behavior, specifically what is seen as the Heat’s team-wide dirty play. It’s hard to argue against the backlash, especially when we can easily put together highlight reels of LeBron’s Top Flops, Norris Cole taking groin shots, and this outrageous attempt at a flop from Dwyane Wade over the weekend.

And now one national sportswriter has had enough and is calling out Wade as the dirtiest player in the NBA.

Here is what CBS’ Gregg Doyel wrote in an article titled “Way of Wade: Flopping, Dirty Plays for the Win!” posted yesterday afternoon:

Someone has to say it, so I’ll be the bad guy. No, wait. Dwyane Wade is the bad guy.

And that’s how I’ll say it:

Dwyane Wade is the bad guy. He’s the worst guy in the NBA, when it comes to bad-guy stuff. Dirtiest player in the league? Yeah. That’s Dwyane Wade. Look no farther for The Next Bruce Bowen, because he’s here and headed to the Hall of Fame. Rare that a player as good as Dwyane Wade would be as devious, as dirty, as Dwyane Wade … but there we are.

Dwyane Wade is the most devious, the most dirty player in the NBA.

Later:

The guy’s dirty. He doesn’t just foul people — he hurts them. He hurled Rajon Rondo to the ground during the 2011 playoffs and Rondo suffered a dislocated elbow. He raked his arm down on Kobe Bryant’s face and broke his nose … during the 2012 All-Star Game. He kicked Ramon Sessions in the groin earlier this season and was suspended a game for that.

He’s dirty, man. Dirty. Dirtiest player in the NBA? I think that goes without saying. Does anybody else have a rap sheet as long as Wade’s rap sheet? Did I mention the forearm shiver to Lance Stephenson’s head yet? That was in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals, and it was so bad, so dirty, that after studying it on film the NBA assessed Wade with a flagrant foul.

The NBA didn’t suspend Wade for Game 3 because he’s Dwyane Wade and that’s the Miami Heat and suspending Wade for Game 3 might have thrown the Eastern Conference finals even further out of balance, and the NBA would prefer the Miami Heat to reach the NBA Finals. We all know that, right? That the NBA prefers the Heat (and LeBron James) to reach the NBA Finals? I’m not suggesting the referees would affect the outcome, but I am absolutely suggesting the NBA didn’t suspend Dwyane Wade for smashing Lance Stephenson in the head because he plays for Miami, and he plays with LeBron, and the NBA would prefer the Heat reaches the NBA Finals.

Which brings me to Sunday night. Game 3.

The flop.

You saw the flop, right? Wade was under the basket, near the baseline, nowhere to go. Well, there was one place to go — out of bounds. With Pacers big man Ian Mahinmi nearby, Wade threw himself out of bounds. He wanted the call, the foul, the ball. He got none of it.

I want a fine.

And at the end, to tie it all up he address Wade directly:

It’s hilarious to watch, really, but not in a laughing-with-you sort of way. I see it and I’m laughing at you, Dwyane Wade, because it’s pathetic for a player of your stature and skill to resort to such blatant cheating. And that’s what flopping is — it’s cheating. Trying to gain an unfair advantage, help your team and penalize theirs, by getting a call you don’t deserve.

Wade’s a cheater.

Dirty, too.

These facts are undisputable. Someone had to say it, so I’ll say it. And I’m not worried about being the bad guy anymore, because everyone knows who the bad guy is in this story.

He wears No. 3 for the Miami Heat.

Wow. Doyel pulls no punches and in many ways he’s not wrong. Unfortunately all of these issues stem back to the NBA allowing it to get this point in the first place. Is it annoying to watch guys of the Wade and LeBron caliber resort to this stuff? Absolutely. But at the end of the day, they are exploiting a weakness in the game to give themselves a competitive advantage. If the NBA really wants this stuff to stop, it’s on the League to step up and take care of it.

Is Dwyane Wade the dirtiest player in the NBA?

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