NBA Rumors: Jermaine O’Neal explains incident with Blake Griffin

Veteran NBA player Jermaine O’Neal made headlines recently when he was involved in a confrontation with Los Angeles Clippers star Blake Griffin outside the locker room following a contest in which the two went at it a few times on the court. Recently, O’Neal spoke a bit about what exactly prompted the two to have a “discussion” with one another.

"“It was some things that were said,” O’Neal said after the team’s Friday morning shootaround, “and in this league you want to put clearance to it. And we did. After the game, it felt like it was appropriate to address.” … “It’s understood what the line is,” O’Neal said. “We’re paid to be basketball players and to play the game the right way and do things the right way. And when you cross the line in saying things and doing things, you address it and you move on. We’ve moved on.” … “Sometimes things happen during games or things are said during games that shouldn’t necessarily be said or done,” he said. “But then as men, you talk about it. You shake on it and move on. I don’t have any animosity toward him, hopefully he doesn’t have any animosity toward me and hopefully that’s it.”"

One thing you have to admire from the veteran O’Neal is that he had the awareness to not let anything escalate too far on the court, rather wait until private to settle the matter. This isn’t the first time that someone has had an issue with the way Griffin handles himself on the court, but O’Neal was able to hold himself together enough to wait until they were alone.

Well, about as alone as you can get in today’s media-driven world.