SI

Grant Hill Once Saved JJ Redick From a Humiliating (and Disgusting) Hazing Experience

Also in Traina Thoughts: BizNasty joins the SI Media Podcast; in addition to bat flips, we now have bat spiking, J.J. Watt off the top rope and more.

Jimmy Traina

Grant Hill Once Saved JJ Redick From a Humiliating (and Disgusting) Hazing Experience
Grant Hill Once Saved JJ Redick From a Humiliating (and Disgusting) Hazing Experience /

1. Hazing in sports is controversial. As time has gone by, more and more stories of rituals going too far have made headlines.

Now, the definition of “too far” is, obviously, subjective.

Luckily for J.J. Redick, in 2006, his old teammate, Grant Hill thought one particular way of hazing a rookie was crossing the line.

On the latest episode of Redick’s podcast, The Old Man & the Three, Hill told a story about how the Magic dealt with Redick’s tardiness during his rookie season, back when hazing wasn’t so controversial.

“You were late one day,” Hill said to Redick. “You were late many days, You might have shown up when practice was over. The veterans brought you in the locker room and they put you in a chair, one of those swivel chairs that someone wheels. And they’re starting to talk to [Redick], ‘You can’t do this, blah, blah, blah,’ and then they just duct-tape [Redick] to the chair and then they wheel [Redick] into the showers and turn the showers on and then Hedo Turkoglu says, ‘Let’s pee on him,’ and I’m like, ’No, no, no, no, no, we can’t.’

And so they wheeled [Redick] out onto the court and they duct-taped him in the chair to the basketball stanchion and left him out there.”

Hill then reiterated that he wasn’t down with Turkoglu’s idea.

“But just remembering that moment,” said Hill, “and trying to be like, ‘O.K., this is my guy, but you know, we gotta do a little rookie hazing, but I’m not gonna let you pee on him.’”

Redick, to his credit, admitted that his hazing was deserved.

“I’m gonna be honest with you; you guys were brutal to me,” said Redick. “I didn’t know that level of hatred existed before I even showed up. Part of it was me being a little immature, fairly immature, and my natural brashness, confidence that I give off. So I probably was an asshole my rookie year.”

2. A brand-new SI Media Podcast dropped this morning, and it features an interview with Paul “BizNasty” Bissonnette.

The media star talks about how he ended up getting the gig with TNT, what the television experience has been like for him and the challenges he faces doing a network television show while also doing a podcast for Barstool Sports at the same time.

Other topics discussed include Bissonnette’s intense feud with Rangers fans, which players he’d like to have on Spittin Chiclets, which celebrity would be his dream interview and why working for TNT has been one of the best experiences of his life.

Following Biz, is the weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment with Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York. Jimmy and Sal discuss Adam Sandler’s new movie, Hustle, the MLS–Apple TV+ deal and the pros and cons of summer. The segment finishes with Jimmy and analyzing recent Apple reviews for the SI Media Podcast.

You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Google.

3. J.J. Watt has always seemed like the nicest, most easygoing guy, but on Wednesday night he decided to bludgeon DraftKings after the sports betting company got snarky with him.

4. Phillies catcher Garrett Stubbs passed on a bat flip Wednesday and opted for a bat spike after hitting a game-winning home run against the Marlins.

5. Good reporting here from Bills tight end Dawson Knox who revealed Wednesday that his quarterback, Josh Allen, is addicted to telling Deez Nuts jokes.

6. Once again, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo trended on Twitter on Wednesday after appearing on First Take. This time, Russo got people worked up about a top-five sports fan bases list.

Personally, I thought this Russo clip was way, way, better.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: If you're a wrestling fan, you will thoroughly enjoy John Cena giving you an inside look at his very first match in WWE.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.

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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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