Defending Kris Humphries

The other day, in preparation for the Knicks regular season opener against the Celtics on Christmas Day, I asked my Mom if she could name anyone on the New York roster. She failed. When I asked her if the names Carmelo Anthony or Amar'e Staudemire rang a bell, she had absolutely no idea who, or what, I was talking about. Other than Michael Jordan or maybe LeBron James or Patrick Ewing (he was a big deal in New York back in the day, remember), no NBA player possesses the star power to pass what I refer to as the "Mom Test." Ask my Mom who Kris Humphries is, however, and I bet she can tell you that he was the guy that was married to Kim Kardashian for 72 days.

Since the start of the shortened NBA preseason, Humphries has heard it from every fan base that he and his New Jersey Nets have visited. For reasons that I can't really understand, Humphies has been booed continuously, and was recently voted as the NBA's most hated player (a title that should never belong to anyone other than LeBron). Personally, I have absolutely nothing against Humphries and actually like the guy. Not only is he one of the league's most underrated and hard working players, but I don't think he can be blamed for any of the celebrity drama with which he was involved this past year. From what I can gather, and I don't really follow celebrity gossip at all, Humphries was completely blindsided by Kardashian's demands for a divorce after only 72 days of marriage. If this is indeed true, I feel horrible for the guy. More likely, though, the Humphries / Kardashian wedding was a joke from the start, and both parties were just using the spectacle as an excuse to make a few bucks and increase their popularity. Assuming this is the case, I ask: why should we criticize Humphries for that?

After the NBA lockout, we know two things: professional basketball is all about money, and no one is going to be looking after NBA players after they retire. If Humphries saw his "wedding" to Kardashian as an opportunity to make some spending cash, I say good for him. The people dumb enough to watch and follow his celebrity wedding should be booed, not Humphries. Perhaps Humphries cared more about becoming famous than becoming rich, though (after all, he will make $8 million for playing 66 basketball games this year). Again, what's wrong with that? Somehow, a Nets backup forward was able to do something that Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard and Chris Paul can't - make my Mom know who he is.

If I get the chance to see Humphries play in person this year, I definitely won't be booing the guy. Instead, I'll be tipping my proverbial cap to a guy who was smart enough to work the system and make himself a bigger household name than some of the league's brightest stars. If he can turn his 15 minutes of fame into a productive career on and off the basketball court, Humphries should go down as one of the game's most unlikely big time personalities.