Fans of the Boston Celtics mourned Wednesday morning after the Boston Celtics management announced that their star forward, Gordon Hayward, had been put down by team doctors after breaking his leg. In the wake of his euthanization, Hayward’s four-year, $128 million contract has been rendered null and void. The Celtics management have reportedly spent the leftover contract money on Gulfstream jets.
A Celtics representative answered questions at the press conference following the euthanization, which occurred in the team training room at TD Garden. “The same thing happened to Kevin Ware – he was euthanized after he broke his leg in the NCAA tournament. Paul George was almost euthanized by the Pacers as well when he suffered his leg injury, but there were some politics behind the scenes that kept the doctors away and let him recover, to keep playing.”
The tradition of euthanizing injured athletes began with horse racing and extended to other sports in the late 1980s, after medical expenses and compensation ran over payroll. After three NBA players were euthanized in unsanctioned operations by their team doctors on team buses, the commissioner passed a legislative action which only approved the euthanization of injured players upon approval of team management.
“The managers and training staff decided that it was not the best idea to keep injured players going,” a trainer for the Celtics said. “The second we saw, or rather heard, that leg snap, we realized ‘yeah, he’s not going to bounce back from that’.”
“I don’t support the practice of NBA team owners euthanizing injured players,” Commissioner Adam Silver said, “but I understand that at times of financial duress, extreme measures must be considered. The euthanization of Gordon Hayward was done in complete consideration of all the circumstances involved.”
The Celtics will hold a memorial at the start of the next game at TD Garden to commemorate the player’s career. At Butler, where his court-defying final shot nearly stole the 2011 NCAA championship game, flowers were laid outside the basketball pavilion.
A memorial service was held at TD Garden in Boston to celebrate the life of the basketball star.
