The Kermit Washington Story - Redemption 1 of 7

[thechessstick]

This was a criminal action and I would bet you that no charges were filed simply because Kermy is black.

[thechessstick]

This was a hate crime. I hate racists!

[Survivor87]

Kermit Punched Rudy, what happened to Rudy was unfortunate, But do you realize guys throw punches all the time when these fights break out. Some connect, some don't, Kermits was all money and guess what, if you punch someone right in the nose with a fist, it's going to do heavy damage. People have held Kermit against the wall, why have we heard nothing about Kareems sucker punch of Kent Benson? He clocked him. and broke some face doing so. Kareem had a long healthy career after that.

[twoface042]

ProjectContactAfrica is Kermit

[HyperU2]

It's funny when thugs act as thugs then need a movie to portray them as the victim of struggle.

[LazerJet27]

There is too much hate in the world. Does anyone honestly believe that his entire family should have death threats over that punch? He was suspended for sixty days, and he was fined 53,000 dollars. He got what he deserved and should have gotten more, but thats the end of it. He should not have to hide in Kenya because of that.

[PRSTUNTIN]

lol the african roots of basketball 1:27

[netjunkie9]

I know Rudy T from his 2 championships with the Rockets. Never heard of Kermit Washington until now. I guess there is such a thing as Karma.

[dubce213]

No one can pass judgement on Kermit whatsoever. There are so many factors that go into that punch. It's tragic.

[ologntime]

3 year break for minor league baseball? Or a 2-ring compensation package? How can a guy who puts his head through the rim have a soft spot for sand, pants, and pegging?

[terrysaintjohn]

Kermit seems to be a good person, eloquent speaker. None of this is the point. The point of this thread is that Kermit did something bad and instead of apologizing for his action (and he wasn't just defending himself) he chose to deny what he had done. If he had have apologized, they could have given each other a man hug and that would have been that. In the heat of the moment he turned around and punched someone...that's it! And, he never apologized. Black, white...he never apologized.

[elwin38]

No matter how much he apologizes, IT WILL NEVER BE ENOUGH FOR PEOPLE! He understands that..that's why he was never the same and he faded into obscurity.

[hak2791]

lmao this is big to people wtf people are dying as we speak and yet were focusing on some bitch ass punch i wouldve ate that shit by the way

[devilxhlywood]

dude should have been a boxer

[recessrecords]

This is a GREAT documentary about a great man who did a stupid thing a loooooong time ago. Everyone has done at least one stupid thing that they regret. Not many have followed it up with compassion and selfless acts.

[crazy650c]

A cheap shot is a cheap shot. Africa doesn't know that Kermit is a cheap shot, sucker punch COWARD that ran away from America and his guilt. All that BS about his hard childhood. So what? Lots of kids have hard childhoods. He had it made with talent, money and breaks that other people do not get..... then the real man came out. The cheap shot, sucker punching COWARD. Stay in Africa until you become a man and admit your guilt. I never expect to see you in America....and don't care if I do.

[keezydadon]

@crazy650c That's where your logic fails,it wasn't a sucker punch it was an act of reflex.The teams were fighting and the guy came running up behind him,he honestly did what thought he had to do to keep from being attacked.He ran away because at the time America wasn't even 5 years removed from the civil rights movement, after hitting a famous white guy do you honestly think he would have treated fairly again?he made 1 mistake 0 years ago but yet you still hate?makes me wonder.

[vivafuzzy]

pat carter looks like she took it worse then her ex-husband.

[vivafuzzy]

RUDY did not die and as a matter of fact Rudy who was a marginal player went on to have a great coaching career, so all ends well.

[eppeone]

Ahh... He was an all star 5 of his first 8 seasons... Until 'The Punch'...

Rudy T was a very good player... Maybe not great, but still very good..

[gazzer888]

how about this story?

white sport guy punches black sport guy nearly killing him.

white guy help some white kids in some white countr..

white actor makes film about what a nice guy white sport guy is.

we all go aaaaah, how nice.

[btc1988]

sooo, are we supposed to feel sorry for him now. I know I don't

[trucka270]

What is in a person's mind that drives them to throw a punch that hard? Seconds before Washington had punched Kevin Kunnert in the face so hard he almost lost consciousness ( Jabbar had Kunnert's arms pinned to his side ).

[vivafuzzy]

@trucka270 What is in a persons mind that drives them to throw a punch that hard? I take it you never been in a fight, because if you have you would know that you don't try to limit the amount of force you are going to use, the object of a punch in a fight is to neutralize your opponent before he does you, and if some guy is running at full speed and all you do is catch him at the corner of your eyes, I don't think in that instant you can make a determination on how much force you will use.

[MerkinMuffly]

Have you guys checked out the 2nd part in this series: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story: Road to Redemption. Jeffrey seemed sorry for what he did, I forgive him.

[mootime]

kermit seems sorry for what he did. He did go way over the line with what he did. If Rudy died im sure everything woulda been completely different. Kermit is a nice person from what it seems though. This isnt some ron artest in the stands story, its much more complicated than that.

[canibus123321]

@mootime no way, thats retarted, im from detroit so i hate artest, but at least artest was provoked, rudy did not provoke this piece of shit

[KWCline91]

I think Kermit deserves an award for his contributions to Africa and if there ever was a hall-of-famer that had been contributors to the charity works of the NBA he'd be on that list.

[ffmcmav40]

People make mistakes all the time and he made a bad in the heat of the moment mistake. I'll bet he's sorry as hell. People always are when they gotta pay the piper after the fact. I'd bet though he'd take it back a million times if he could. As bad as I feel for him that's what you get when you react like that. If people had to suffer like he did for thier actions maybe there would be less violence. I feel bad for him but he brought that on himself.

[samuraiyao]

The only way for kermit to get redemption is if he let Rudy T come full blast at him with a thrown punch, fracturing his face... That is the only redemption in a man's book...

[Chris08TT]

agreed

[olmec19]

Kermit Sounds Like An Good/Honest Brotha To Me!!

[samuraiyao]

How about I come up there and punch you in the face, and then I say that I'm sorry? Would you like me then?

[hottbjcoke20y]

I agree with theonesandman. I read the book "The Punch" and this book really gives you the insight about K. Washington. The negetive comments about K. Washington are not founded. He has a good heart and if he didn't feel bad about what happen we won't be seeing this on YouTube or a book about this story. Let him be, let him move on. This happen over 30 years ago.

[Sierra688]

Rudy T is truly one of the nicest people you'd ever want to meet. Even when he was a two-time NBA champion coach/former Rockets great back in the mid-90s he never big-timed anyone in Houston. He had a big heart and generosity towards regular people, the waiters, bartenders, hotel bellmen, etc. He's right up there with Hakeem as my favorite Rocket people of all time.

[MrBennetzen]

What can I and my church do to help Project Contact Africa?

[ricochetrob]

Intent was to harm.

He punched Kunnert, and then he leveled Rudy.

He deserves the punishment; there is no unselfishness in the man towards Rudy.

That tells me everything I need to know.

Selfish people pay a price for being selfish. Period.

[theonesandman]

I got to know Kermit and he has a huge heart. He is truley a great guy and it's shame, so many of these comments are way off base as you don't know the man.

[iluvbrew0069]

It's a shame Kermit Washington will always be remembered for "the punch". He was a good basketball player and he looks like a nice person.

[samuraiyao]

Until is the key word here... I can be a nice person and well respected too until I decided to punch someone in the face.. Being an adult, means you live by your action...

[Georgeharrison22]

Its been 31 years since "the punch" they have to let it go he seems deasent why not let it go.

[OrmEmber]

I saw the game where Kermit punched Rudy and almost killed him. There was no provocation. The crime isn't what Kermit did; a punk is a punk. The crime is that the NBA didn't ban him for life from basketball. Instead, he was transferred to another team. Nice statement there, NBA. Rudy went on to be one of the best coaches in history, Kermit deserved to be obscured in sports history. I heard him on radio last year, and he Never recognized what he did was wrong; he justified it instead!

[ProjectContactAfrica]

Let me ask you something. If you were in a brawl and someone from the other team runs up behind you, are you going to turn around and shake his hand? Your statement implies that Kermit meant to punch him to have the results it did. If you think that, then you are as ignorant as all other haters out there. Do you know Kermit? Have you met him on a personal level.. All i hear from you is i saw and i heard on the radio... I personally know him WELL and he has the kindest heart of all people I know

[elwin38]

@shwantz3 WHY DOES IT ALWAYS HAVE TO BE ABOUT SKIN COLOR? AND NO...THAT'S NOT THE BOTTOM LINE! I'm not saying he's innocent but to make a stupid ass, ignorant statement like that is untrue. NOT ALL black people are violent, rude & obnoxious. There are tons of NAZI documentaries w/ sappy music in the background and those assholes were responsible for millions of deaths. Oh by the way, even though they were German, they were ALL WHITE!!!

[80svideoluvr]

@shwantz3 You're a goddamned racist. No two ways about, shithead.

[Ariamaluum]

@shwantz3. Hitler's bastard ho.

[intellectuallygifted]

bill romanowski punched a teammate in the face and destroyed his career, but people still think he is great and respect his. he also only had to pay 300 thousand for it, unlike kermit, maybe because bill was white. anyways i do think both of them are punks and sports shouldnt have people like romanowski or washington

[nonplayerzealot4]

@OrmEmber I saw the game where Kermit punched Rudy and almost killed him. There was no provocation

---

There is also no replay or game tape from that night. It happened in 1978, even playoff gms from that far back are rare. 

[AHawkins25]

@OrmEmber Obviously it was a moment that he would like to have back and wish he never did it that. But its not like he's a bad person and this was an incident that changed his life and his harshest criticism was from the public and how he was being portrayed and receiving death threats as well. So the suspension was only part of the punishment, his judgement in the court of public opinion was the worst.

[AHawkins25]

@OrmEmber Imagine how one moment, no matter how many good deeds you have done before and after, could change your life and how others portray you and receive death threats to you and your family?

[rooseguitar64]

@OrmEmber I was a ballboy for the Cleveland Cavaliers from 1974-1977. I had met Kermit and Rudy both on numerous occasions..they are both fine people, and this was an unfortunate incident. You have to take into account the "nature" of the game at that time. What most people forget is that the NBA had at that time "enforcers" on almost every team.. That was the culture..so you can blame Larry O'Brian as much as anyone else.

[thechessstick]

@OrmEmber He is obviously a capital N.

[Milordvega]

I don't think Rudy Tomjanovich likes this documentary,

[ProjectContactAfrica]

It is not about Rudy, why should he like or dislike it?

[mattnhs12]

@ProjectContactAfrica It isn't about me either but I can still like or dislike it. Don't be an asshole just because no one likes your buddy Kermit

[keezydadon]

@mattnhs12 Why if it has nothing to do with you?And i like him so that counts.

[emsthegod]

@ProjectContactAfrica you dont understand sarcasm very well

[funksteady]

Thanx for posting, very happy to see that Kermit's side of the story is finally being heard. Kermit was the ultimate PF, great rebounder, blocker, defender and could also contribute on the offense. He was a Rodman, Ben Wallace type of role player. He paid the price, was the NBA's sacrificial lamb, because the NBA was hypocrytical enough to wait till someone nearly got killed before finally deciding to crack down on the violence. There were hundreds of punches thrown in the NBA before that one...

[pnutbutrncrackers]

For those about to watch these clips:

1) This documentary is very, very, VERY sympathetic toward Washington (as is "ProjectContactAfrica" -- the poster).

2) Even though he feels he has, I don't feel he has ever truly given the humble, open, no-excuse type apology to RT that he always should have. This is the pride of human nature (in a bad sense). Truth be told, most of us are the same.

3) I do NOT hate him, and truly wish him God's forgiveness and liberation in Jesus Christ.

[alvie3]

I agree with what you say in 2. It's not as if he turned right around and swung. He's looking right at RT before he swings. To say that he thought someone was coming to hit him from behind doesn't really add up. An unequivocal apology is all that makes sense. But it is human to still be defensive and want to make some excuse to make it seem more "accidental". And Washington deserves to be judged by the totality of his life and not by one moment that seems to poorly represent him.

[mahaffe]

A book on Kermit Washington is The Punch by John Feinstein.

[fonzarell51]

Interesting

[surferfishsd]

Thank you for posting this video. It is great to see what Kermit is doing now. He has made such a positive impact on so many people's lives.