Blatche apologizes for his behavior

A little while ago, Wizards forward Andray Blatche was benched by Flip Saunders for, as Saunders put it, “not wanting to be coached or wanting to play.” Blatche has since gone on the record to tell his side of the story, which is that he wanted to play but simply didn’t want to hear Flip tell him about his shot selection at that particular time. He has also refused to apologize for his actions up to this point, because he claimed he hadn’t done anything wrong.
According to the twitter feed of the Washington Post’s Michael Lee, Blatche has had a change of heart. According to Lee, Blatche admits that he “should have handled the situation better” and went on to say the following:

“I owe an apology to the fans & to the organization, to [Flip], my teammates. It took some time, but I was wrong, I see that now.”

Blatche also had some words just for the fans:

“Nobody is perfect. If they forgive me, I’ll love that. If not, I’ll have to regain their trust back.”

Blatche’s play after the trade deadline has been one of the few bright spots for the Wizards this season. Unfortunately, his maturity level appears to still be a work in progress. Being patient with Blatche’s development on the court ended up paying off for the Wizards. Being patient with Blatche’s attitude off the court may pay dividends as well. With the Wizards currently riding a 13-game losing streak, it’s not like they have other talented players lining up to play for them.