NBA player Jimmy Butler isn’t happy that John Calipari called him a bully in Minnesota.
Butler says he’s going to confront Calipari when he sees him out:
“I don’t think bully is a good word,” Butler told ESPN. “I tell it how it is. Whenever I was in college, I had [Marquette coach] Buzz Williams to tell me how it was. I didn’t have a bunch of McDonald’s All Americans like [Calipari] has. So, he can look at it a different way. ”
Butler paused, perhaps to consider ending the conversation. But he couldn’t — and didn’t.
“He can call me a bully, but when [Calipari] sees me, I’m gonna confront him about it,” Butler continued. “If I’m a bully, I’m gonna bully him, too. I’ll tell him how I feel, just like I’d tell anyone else.
“I don’t care if he’s some big head coach. I’m not bullying nobody. I’m just keeping it real. Some of these guys aren’t used to it. When you have as much talent as [Karl] has had throughout his life, guys don’t keep it real with him. I do.”
Calipari’s bully comment came in a discussion about Karl-Anthony Towns:
“I bet that environment was so uncomfortable for him. First of all, he and Jimmy are totally different people — how they were brought up, their likes and dislikes, how they approach competition. You have one guy on this side and one guy on the other side.
“There was a dogfight, and Karl’s not one to get into that. So, he stepped back.”
Team members say that as Butler’s frustration and unhappiness swelled in Minnesota, Towns’ locker room presence receded, allowing Butler to dominate the conversation — and the mechanisms on the court.
“Things happen. There are power struggles all the time in [the NBA],” Calipari said. “If a guy can bully you, he will bully you. And that’s what Jimmy did to Karl. C’mon, that’s the league.”
