Reader comments
Hey, Derek, those boos are personal

I don't think that I agreed with any of this. Isn't this a church owned paper? What's with the running for prophet comment? Pretty much lost all credibility right there. Derek Fisher is an upstanding citizen, his daughter had cancer; come on, what would you do? It ticks me off that everybody jumps on board on booing Fisher and then when Gira comes to town suddenly there's a taboo on showing any upset feelings toward whatever team he's grafted himself onto now. What the heck is wrong with you people?

Great article. Right on target. Something was definitely Fishy about Fish leaving.

What is wrong with us? Perhaps the millions Fisher is getting from the Lakers and it is not like he could not be where his daughter is having treatments. As I recall in the playoffs his daughter's treatment were in New York. The last time I checked LA is further away from New York than SLC. Simply put Fisher wanted out and used his daughter to get out.

As a fan you can boo if you want to. You paid for the ticket and it may even help win the game at some poor fellows expense. Unless it is one of those players who thrive at the booing.

On the other hand some may think we as fans come off as looking like a bunch of slack-jawed yokels. Is this a possible reason, along with a hard nosed coach and little nightlife, that players do not want to play in Utah?

Lee, great article. Everything you said was right on the money. Derek was abjectly deceitful when he left Utah, and really took advantage of a sympathetic owner and general public. I really respected him when he first came to Utah because he seems more down to earth and decent than many NBA players, but he showed his true colors when he lied to fans and Jazz staff alike about the reasons fro his departure. Miller shouldn't have released him - how many NBA players actually live full-time in the city where they play? If he had felt that his daughter needed to go to LA for care, great - do it. But Miller didn't need to release him to achieve that end.

Fisher is head of the players Union and should be setting a good example. Using a sick child to get your way is pathetic.

Stop taking yourself so seriously and realize that the "prophet" comment was a literary device used to exaggerate the popularity of Fisher at that time. Nothing more, nothing less. Quite funny, not at all sacreligious, church-owned paper or not.
The bottom line is that the Jazz wanted to help Derek, and were taken advantage of in return. In the long run we are probably better off without his large salary, and it has allowed our younger guards like Brewer to develop. But that doesn't change the fact that Larry was trying to do the right thing, and got tricked in return. It would have seemed wrong at the time to release Fisher and include a requirement that he couldn't sign with another Western Conference team, yet in retrospect, that's what should have been done. I wish he and his daughter well, but still feel like he took advantage of Larry's kindness to leave the Jazz, which is too bad.

No not a church owned paper

Derek was a player of the Jazz and fans loved him. Today, he is not a player of the Jazz. Also, he's now playing for a team which in a race with the Jazz. Our, fans' of the Jazz mission is to do something fair to ensure him not to play good . If it is booing, yeah let's do it. But i wonder, booing ensure him play better ? or applauding him as crazy as he gets the ball ? or a mixture ? To me, let's applaud him when he gets the ball and boo him when he makes a score.
GO MEMO, GO JAZZZZZZZZZZ

Where's the rest of this article? It reads like the columnist stopped writing half way through. I am perfectly willing to entertain the idea that Fisher was deceptive but you have to offer proof in your article. You can't just state the conclusion without a premise -- especially when you are accusing a guy of using his cancer stricken daughter as an excuse to get out of his contract. This article was bizarre. IF YOU HAVE EVIDENCE THEN STATE IT!

The simple fact is, it's much more convenient to get a flight from L.A. to New York than it is from Salt Lake. Further, while his daughter's specialized care may be in New York, she probably needs local follow-up and primary care frequently. Not any old doctor can do that for someone with such a serious and rare condition. I've dealt with this issue myself having been born with a congenital heart defect. I've also lived in So. Cal and Utah for extended periods of time. Not that there aren't good doctors in Utah, but someone with a rare condition needs highly specialized doctors and they tend to be at the major coastal hospitals. Right now I'm living in the Bay Area for this reason. I had planned on staying in Utah after my graduation, but I needed some medical care that I couldn't really get there. So stop blaming Fisher. I still believe he made the decision based on what was best for his family. You wont hear me booing him.

His motive to care for his daughter was pure. What was disingenuous was the claim that she could not receive excellent cancer treatment in SLC. Is there a finer hospital for children in the western U.S. than Primary Childrens Hospital? The U of U's cancer center is also one of the finest in the nation. The only difference between L.A. and SLC in this regard is that in L.A. Fisher can earn $millions more than in UT. So go ahead, Derek, say it wasn't about the money. I defy you to show us that your daughter is getting better care in L.A. than she could have received here while you played for a supportive and sentimental fan base.

Don't agree with the booing of Fisher just because signed with the Lakers. If booing is acceptable, it ought to be for showing displeasure of a call, a hard foul, a cheap shot, etc., or an act that occurs on the court that is unacceptable.

If we think that Fisher's departure was deceptive, blame Mr. Miller as well--he was as much a part of it as D-Fish. Fisher had a family matter to deal with (indisputable fact). While signing with the Lakers seems questionable to the skeptic, it was something that LHM could have predicted or forseen. I propose that Jazz fans give Derek a round of applause when he is introduced and nothing else for the rest of the game.

If I remember right, didn't Fisher specifically tell Miller before he was released that he was planning on signing with another team? We all knew he wasn't done playing basketball so calling it a "sucker punch" is a just a little off the mark don't you think? Simple fact, he's a Laker now so he gets booed.

I agree. Fish pulled a fast one. He made no attempt to sign with the Knicks (granted, who would?). He went straight to the team who he wanted to play for all along. Convenient.

To: Wow,

Maybe part of the problems stems from the fact that the Fishers took their daughter from LA to New York for treatment. The treatment they were seeking was in New York. In LA all they got was the same they could have had at Huntsman, follow-up care for treatment they were having in NEW YORK.

Get the picture? Instead of just saying "hey guys, it's been fun, but I don't want to play here anymore" he came up with some excuse and basically lied his way out of the contract.

Does it strike anyone else as ironic that in the time since he left they have brought their daughter back to Utah for consults at the Huntsman Cancer Institute?

Hmmmm.

Moving to take care of you daughter and taking a pay cut to take a job in another city. What is the difference in him doing that and anyone else? He lost millions.

Is it also possible that Fisher wasn't happy with the coach-players relationship in the Jazz organization so when his daughter's problem gave him a reasonable argument for leaving--he left.

As a physician with knowledge of the rare eye condition, treatment is available in Utah for the aftercare. The treatment in New York was experimental. I believe D Fish used his daughters tragedy to escape from Utah where his WIFE was probably not happy.

would you be booing d-fish if his team (not necessarily the lakers) is not winning? i think you are selfish people with your selfish attitudes!!! Jazz fans should examine themselves first before passing judgment on others. let the man without sin cast the first stone