Roy Williams' Haiti Analogy: UNC Losing Streak Is Like Earthquake

UNC is not having its finest basketball season. The defending NCAA champions fell to arch-rival Duke Wednesday night, dropping their conference record to an abysmal 2-7. With the team suffering such a striking reversal of fortune in such a short period of time, Roy Williams reflected on the team's struggles on Tuesday.

While all sorts of negative analogies could be expected in this situation, it's safe to say that no one thought the coach would compare UNC's problems with the disaster that has befallen Haiti. Yet that is exactly what Williams did:

"Massage therapist told me, she said, 'You know, coach, what happened in Haiti is a catastrophe. What you're having is a disappointment.' I told her that depends on what chair she was sitting in. Because it does feel like a catastrophe to me, because it is my life."

UNC has lost 11 games this season. The estimated death toll in Haiti was recently revised to 230,000.

Comments

[Adele Lassiter]

06:26 PM on 02/25/2010

This is the worst season in Carolina History. Sure the 8-20 season looks worse on paper, but if you consider the fact the 2001/02 squad had far less talent and experience than this years team. UNC has returners from a national championship squad who played day in and out with the likes of Ellington, Green, Lawson and Hansbrough. This year they aren't losing because a lack of talent, but due to a lack of focus and drive. Granted in the last weeks Ed Davis, Zeller and Wear's injuries haven't helped, but this season has been a train-wreck. At the beginning of the season they played nearly beat Kentucky at Rupp and beat Ohio State and Michigan State. It's like mid-season they got cocky or disinterested in the game. Twitter is their main focus and not hoops. I am a die-hard fan and will watch, but I am very disappointed with this team - not because they are losing, but because of attitude.

[JazzSax UT]

09:28 PM on 02/14/2010

It's just basketball... c'mon. Bet he makes more than the History teachers (combined) do. What a shame.

[PentaxKilla]

10:59 AM on 02/14/2010

Maybe he should have kept that one to himself.

[TheKidd]

10:46 AM on 02/14/2010

i'm actually offended by Huffpo on this one. what the dude said was not offensive and I'm haitian.

[fifteen pounds]

06:59 PM on 02/13/2010

I remember this guy standing on the side crying like a baby when his favored Kansas team lost in the NCAA....I have loathed him ever since...When he went to NC, I became a Kansas fan...and cheer everytime NC loses, though, to be honest, I widh both Duke and NC would lose....

[KIVPossum]

08:11 AM on 02/14/2010

UNC

NC is that cow college in Raleigh.

UNC is the center of the universe.

[pfc1369]

01:38 PM on 02/13/2010

HuffPo Headings:

Take one molehill, stir briskly until it becomes one mountain.

Repeat.

[KIVPossum]

08:02 AM on 02/14/2010

LOL. You understand the program.

[PresidentRobertBooth]

01:16 PM on 02/12/2010

Breaking News....Coach Roy just stubbed his toe, and apparently it was as catastrophic as the 1970 Bhola cyclone

[fierclyindependent]

08:48 AM on 02/12/2010

I call yellow journalism here: Williams did NOT make the comparison to Haiti, his massage therapist did. All he said, in essence, that the losing streak is very, very serious to him. That's good, its his job and he's serious about fixing the problem. No story here, only another media attempt to make mountains out of molehills, or tarpits out of tarheels, if you prefer a pun.

[MontanaBlue]

08:32 PM on 02/12/2010

I agree. What Roy Williams said was hyperbole — maybe in bad taste — but the headline on this story is just wrong. I think we should all take some deep breaths and step back for a second and not twist Roy's comments the way the headline has.

[AliveInNYC]

11:45 PM on 02/12/2010

'You know, coach, what happened in Haiti is a catastrophe. What you're having is a disappointment.' I told her that depends on what chair she was sitting in. Because it does feel like a catastrophe to me, because it is my life."

Ummmm, no. Anyone with an IQ over 50 can see that he actually is comparing his losing streak to Haiti.

[Margo Arrowsmith]

07:59 AM on 02/12/2010

I am a huge sports fan, college especially. And i like that Roy sat with the Kansas fans when they played for the '09 championship. I defended him against the local critics, in part because it showed that he could put this all into perspective, know that it was just a game.

But for some reason, I have been enjoying the recent losing streak, not sure why, but maybe I sensed something like this coming.

I know it wasn't his comment, but I would like to think he would have been embarrassed when he heard it and certainly know better than to repeat it.

Its a bunch of college kids and a Hall of Fame coach who is having a hard time. And since we are throwing around silly (at best) statements, the word around the Triangle is that Roy is a better recruiter than he is a coach. (Of course, his first UNC championship belies that, but then his losing streak IS NOTHING LIKE HAITI'S EARTHQUAKE!!!

[gfs5541]

08:34 PM on 02/11/2010

Yeah. At this moment, there are people who are out of a job, can't get a job unless they are rich, whose homes are being foreclosed on, who are about to lose unemployment benefits because in part, their own government can't get it together, but we seem to care about a basketball coaches' comment. Nevermind whose to blame. We are wasting time here.

[Cogs]

06:43 PM on 02/11/2010

I'm especially disappointed that Michael Wilbon is ignoring the story. He seems to think that rumor about Rick Pitino trying to hired as coach of the Nets is more important.

[qdog112]

06:55 PM on 02/11/2010

Wibon is a curious creature. Perhaps he's not interested in ruffling the feathers of the bird that feeds him. We ask for more minority involvement in positions like his and they ignore what's important to us. Makes you wonder - why are they there/

[sanderson13]

06:18 PM on 02/11/2010

Um, as I read his statement, it really doesn't seem like he's truly comparing his team's losing streak to what happened in Haiti. I believe he's just saying he views it as a personal catastrophe, because UNC winning is his job to make happen. As someone else pointed out, he wasn't even the person to draw an analogy of Haiti earthquake vs. UNC losing streak.

Misleading headline + misleading story = some venomous comments about coach Williams, who always seems like a decent guy to me.

Maybe people shouldn't have such harsh knee-jerk reactions... just a thought?

[enlightened45]

06:58 PM on 02/11/2010

Read again, slowly......

[KIVPossum]

08:05 AM on 02/14/2010

Without knee-jerk reactions to unread stories with misleading headlines there'd be no comments on HP.

[imaxfli]

05:30 PM on 02/11/2010

Not a great coach..always wins with other coaches recruits...............ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzz........

[qdog112]

07:25 PM on 02/11/2010

He won last year with his own recruits, the first one with Doherty's. players. He is a Hall of Fame coach, but I agree that he is not a great coach. Recruiter yes - bench coach - no.

[dteg]

05:08 PM on 02/11/2010

He would fit right in as a banker or Wall Street executive. He is making millions to coach basketball and is comparing losing a game to hundreds of thousands deaths and suffering.

[lionzion]

05:07 PM on 02/11/2010

Yep, 230,000 lives lost= one coach "potentially losing his job.

So, 3,000 lives lost is erased by one superbowl win. Yep!