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P.J. Washington is tired of the ‘Fire Nico’ chants
P.J. Washington is tired of the ‘Fire Nico’ chants
The Dallas Mavericks have spun out of control since trading Luka Doncic ahead of the trade deadline. No, seriously, Anthony Davis played just one game before suffering a strained abductor; Kyrie Irving is out for the season with a torn ACL; Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively, Olivier Maxence Prosper, Dante Exum, Kai Jones and Jaden Hardy are all injured.
It’s so bad that they may have to forfeit games. The Mavericks can’t sign players until the last week of the season because of where the Quentin Grimes-Martin swap put them near the first apron. It hasn’t been good.
Not to mention, Mavericks fans are understandably irate with general manager Nico Harrison, who traded away the franchise in Doncic. Fans have consistently been seen and/or heard chanting “Fire Nico!” as a response to the last one-and-a-half months, even though that’s not likely to happen regardless.
While practically all of the fanbase despises Harrison, one Mavericks player came to his defense this weekend: P.J. Washington.
“We understand we have a new team now. All that ‘Fire Nico’ stuff, we’re sick and tired of hearing it,” Washington said, according to Mike Curtis of the Dallas Morning News. “We just want to go out there and play and we need the fans to support us no matter who’s on the floor. That’s just how I feel about it.”
Washington was caught on video telling a fan to “sit your a– down” twice after the fan was chanting “Fire Nico” while shooting free throws. The fan posted the video on Twitter, saying that he wish he, “didn’t have to do it when Mavs are shooting FTs but it’s not really effective any other time.”
On one hand, I understand Washington’s frustration. He’s shooting free throws, and one of the Mavericks fans is blatantly distracting him with a chant that’s not related to the game. We hear players say all the time that they want to block out the “outside noise.”
On the other, it’s perfectly understandable why Mavericks fans are upset. If they find any creak or corner to be angry, they will–assuming they still care enough about the team to even do so. Most probably don’t; Harrison probably lost a large chunk of the fanbase and it’s irrecoverable damage.
Until Harrison is gone, the “Fire Nico” chants will persist regardless of any subsequent moves he makes. That’s the reality of the situation. The fans will make noise regardless–even if it’s at the expense of the players playing.
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