Ray Allen responds to the backlash surrounding his new book
Ray Allen seems to be doing just fine.
The former Celtics guard — whose book, “From the Outside: My Journey through Life and the Game I Love,” was released Tuesday — isn’t preoccupied with any of the negative feedback he’s received in response to his new memoir.
“I won’t say it bothers me,” Allen told Boston.com before speaking to a crowd of fans at the Wilbur Theatre Wednesday. “I’m a person who sometimes is too honest. Once you say what you say and you put it out there, it’s amazing how all of sudden I’m now a person where people have to question my integrity.”
Allen’s book, his first, covers the entirety of his basketball career, from friendly pickup games against his father to Big East tournament battles as a UConn Husky to NBA championship runs as both a member of the Celtics and the Miami Heat.
The 42-year-old stays candid throughout the 265 pages, opening up extensively about a number of his experiences, including the title run with Boston in 2008. Although Allen is confident with his words, others have questioned some of the stories — and the overall motivation behind his decision to write a book.
“He just wants attention,” former teammate Rajon Rondo told the Boston Globe‘s Gary Washburn. “Obviously, that man is hurting. I don’t know if it’s financially, I don’t know if it’s mentally. He wants to stay relevant.”
Allen argues that’s not the case: “I definitely don’t need any publicity. I’ve always been cool under the radar.”
The 10-time NBA All-Star says the project — which took about three years — wasn’t a reckless attempt to make some money or get his name back in the headlines. He says he’s known he’s wanted to write a book for quite some time and actually started drafting a version when he first got to the NBA. The initial copy ultimately ended up falling through, though Allen says he knew the venture was something he’d revisit at some point in the future.
“I had couple hundred pages, which I don’t know where they are today,” he said. “But I always knew I wanted to write a book because when you go through a life I go through — I think about all the people I’ve met, all the places I’ve been, the games I’ve played — there’s so much to talk about. There’s so many stories.”
Allen emphasized the importance of not letting stories die with oneself, referencing the 2003 film Big Fish in which — per his abstract of the fantastical movie — “the son thought his dad was lying, but he just lived a magnificent life.” As one grows older, Allen recommends making an effort to not only document but also pass along personal accounts, regardless of whether people choose to believe them.
To those who challenge his experiences, including some of his former teammates, Allen says he harbors no animosity. Even though some of his relationships have been estranged, he says he’s come to terms with the situation.
“I don’t particularly have any angst toward anybody,” Allen said. “You know when somebody’s not for you and you just move in a different direction. There’s no sense from me to be angry at anybody because anger owns you, and I don’t want anything to own me. I want to be a free spirit.”
Allen was not invited to join the 2008 championship squad’s reunion, a vacation planned by Rondo, to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of their rings. Rondo told The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears the decision to exclude Allen was shared among the group of veterans. Former Celtics teammate Paul Pierce also called Allen out for not attending their charity events, telling ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan the guard was absent for many social gatherings off the court. More details surrounding Allen’s friendships with Rondo, Pierce, and Kevin Garnett are discussed in his book.
Having been retired since 2014, Allen says it’s “very surprising” to hear people talking about the storylines as they were years ago. He acknowledges a lot of the buzz comes with the territory of writing a book, but he also believes much of the over-dramatization can be attributed to the media.
“People are going to want to talk about it, people are going to want to know what’s in the book, and then they’re going to take small things out of the book to try and stir opinion,” he said. “I’ve always been forthright with the media and I’ve always said how I was feeling. I’ve never felt that I had to say otherwise. I don’t worry about it.”
“People try to sensationalize the things I say, the things I’ve written, or situations,” he continued. “It’s just part of the media, really.”
Playing in Boston, of course, heightens the coverage of the reported ongoing drama — something Allen says he experienced as a player. While learning to handle the intense scrutiny, however, his appreciation for the city and its fans grew. When asked if there was anything he’d like to set the record straight about his tenure in Boston, Allen says he just wanted to re-affirm his love for those five seasons.
“The only thing I want people to understand is that nothing changes about how I feel about the city of Boston,” he said. “My time here was incredible. When we won in 2008, and 2010 was special, that is something that myself and my kids will remember forever.”
Allen says it was “unfortunate” he had to leave the Celtics, but reiterated the explanation he has many times before: He made the decision that was best for him. As he spelled out, every team has a choice and every player has a choice, so he went with the one that made the most sense for his professional career and personal life. Allen says he’s appreciative of those who still consider him to be a beloved Boston athlete and of those understood his decision.
“For those who didn’t, Boston sports fans had every right to be disappointed and I can’t be mad about that either,” he said.
To those who decide to read his book, including the haters, Allen says he wants to provide “an inspirational beacon” for their own lives. He stresses that failure and adversity were just as important to his development and 19-season career as success and championships.
“It’s important that people know we get right back up and build ourselves back stronger,” he said. “We’re nothing without the adversity we go through.”
“That’s what I want people to understand,” he continued. “I have no ill will towards anybody. I’m who I am today, here sitting in front of you, because of all the things I’ve been through. It’s certainly made me a much better player and a better person.”
Allen says he knows the reception to his book and commentary is going to be mixed — and he’s fully expecting certain readers to skip immediately to the sections about the Celtics — but that doesn’t worry him.
“You know how people are,” he said. “It’s always a mixed bag. You can’t go into a situation with a bias up. You have to go into with an open mind and be willing to learn one’s journey. It’s like going to a movie, and if you think it’s going to be a certain way, you’re going to end up hating it.”
To this day, Allen maintains he doesn’t have too many regrets about his career. But if there is one thing he could change, he says he wished he had stretched more as part of his pre- and post-game regimens.
“I think our bodies get tight and you lose flexibility,” he said. “When you lose flexibility, you lose strength. When you lose strength, you start slowing down a little bit. Long term, when you start slowing down, your career starts to tail off.”
Tom Brady might know a thing or two about that.
