Despite his previous rants, Colin Cowherd thinks John Wall is a good kid
On the last episode of Wall vs. Cowherd: A one-man show, the sports provocateur Colin Cowherd was implored by Bill Simmons to apologize to John Wall, the unwitting target of repeated criticisms. And Cowherd did. Sort of.
Cowherd knows there are two subjects that make him persona non grata in many parts of Washington. In advance of his new TV show on Fox Sports 1, “Speak for Yourself,” which debuts Monday evening, he addressed his remarks on Sean Taylor in today’s Post (spoiler alert: lots of regret). I also asked him about Wall.
He prefaced his response by sharing a reminder of what his job entails, namely churning out opinion after opinion, hoping one moves the needle at least a tiny bit. I asked why he keeps going to the Wall well so often.
“Do I go back to it or do I mention him once every month and the bloggers react to it? I don’t know. It obviously got a lot of play and I understand that,” he said. “When you do this, it’s like doing 30 columns a day. You can’t live in the rear-view mirror. I live in the windshield. I wake up in the morning scared to death I can’t fill three hours.”
Advertisement
Cowherd didn’t apologize for anything, and he wasn’t asked to. It’s clearly a subject that he’s given some thought, and it seems his view of Wall has evolved over time. Or as he puts it — and you can choose to believe this or not — his opinion has changed as Wall has changed.
“I think John Wall is a good kid. People think I was too harsh and maybe I was. I think he’s matured a ton. I didn’t love some of the things he’s done, but I think he has matured. I think he’s a really good kid. He just won some NBA award, charity award … that connected with people, made people mad at me and angry. It divided people. I understand that.”
“Was I too harsh? Probably. But sometimes stuff happens. I’m emotional. Like I said before, I’d like to be more likeable. I would. This is who I am. I’m flawed. I made a character judgment, people don’t like it. They have that right. But I tell you, I don’t wake up in the morning with any resentment or venom toward [Wall]. That’s why I laughed at Bill Simmons.
“He seems like a really good kid, He’s matured, He’s got a nice game. I’ve always said — I said it on Day One and I say it now — he’s an unbelievable talent. That cannot be disputed. Maturity, judgment — we can disagree on that. As a talent, he’s tremendous, and clearly as a human he’s grown.”
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZLumw9Jom5xlo6W8s8DSZpmon1%2BsvXB%2Bj2ptaGhmZH50e8OeqqmhpJp6qbXSZqernaaevLa%2FjKuYp6yjYrCwuMinZJynp52ys7CMrZ%2Bippuoequ7x6dksJmcoXqqv4yaZKCnn5l6rLXDaA%3D%3D