Ex-Suns legend mixed up with late ‘Eddie’
The best thing about basketball is the unexpected lessons it can teach, like this one: Slow down.
It comes in the context of “Fast” Eddie Johnson getting mixed up with “Our” Eddie Johnson. Again.
“Our” Eddie played for the Suns and the Sonics.
“Fast” Eddie played for the Hawks and the Sonics.
They both could fill it up when they got cooking, but that’s pretty much where it stops.
“Fast” Eddie had some serious legal problems and died in prison last month. He was 65.
“Our” Eddie has been doing great, hosting a radio show and calling it like he sees it on Suns broadcasts.
He was alive and well when someone sent him “Fast” Eddie’s obituary with “Our” Eddie’s photo.
You can imagine how that went over, but “Our” Eddie handled it the way he usually handles things, smoothly, like a jump shot that floats through nothing but net.
“It was just a continuation of mixups that come just because somebody has the same name,” “Our” Eddie said.
Part of why it wasn’t a big deal was because this wasn’t the first time it happened.
“A few years ago, it happened when he actually got arrested,” “Our” Eddie said. “They put out stories all over the country, saying it was me.”
He didn’t get mad. He just took the issue to court to clear his name.
But the lesson is clear for journalists and everybody else … but mostly journalists.
“People just need to do their research,” “Our” Eddie said. “That’s the history major in me. I was graded to the max taking tests. You know if you take a history class, you’re not taking too many multiple-choice tests. You’re writing essays.
“And so you learn. You learn that you can’t do silly stuff. You really have to be cognizant of your work. Especially, in a situation like that. Somebody’s lost their life, and now you’re gonna apply a picture. You have to make sure that’s the right picture.
“Sometimes, I think our world right now, man, we’re in such a hurry because of the competitiveness, especially in the news business, where ‘I wanna get the story out first.’ A lot of times they make mistakes.”
It’s true we do. Hell, I’ve made mistakes, and there’s no doubt that I’ll make more. It’s part of life.
Thank goodness that this instance wasn’t a huge deal. No one in “Our” Eddie’s family saw the story and thought it was him.
He reached out to the Associated Press, the organization that made the error, asked them to correct it, and they did.
“CORRECTION,” the note read. “This story is being retransmitted to note that the photo of former Suns player Eddie Johnson that was erroneously linked to this story previously has been deleted. The photo should have been of former Hawks player Eddie Johnson.”
I’d say my former employer handled that situation well. I’m not surprised. They pride themselves on excellence and transparency over there. Those are a couple more great values to learn.
“Our” Eddie kept things low-key. He didn’t even talk to his wife about it Tuesday night. He waited until it was resolved to tell her what happened.
The unfortunate thing is that for those of us with common names, this sort of stuff is bound to come up.
For me, there’s a Greg Moore who used to run the Denver Post, a Greg Moore who used to drive IndyCar, a
Greg Moore who runs the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and a Greg Moore who played in the NHL.
I’ve got a buddy in the news business named Stanley Roberts. He isn’t the guy who played center at LSU.
Heaven help the Ed Smiths of the world.
“Our” Eddie doesn’t have much advice on the matter.
“It’s hard isn’t it?” “Our” Eddie said. “For me, I don’t see any way out of it. There are thousands of Eddie Johnsons. If you look up Eddie Johnson, you’ll see thousands.
“I have a unique middle name. I’m not gonna use it. I don’t know what my mom was thinking about when she gave me that middle name. So I’m not gonna use it.”
It’s “Arnet.”
“Our” Eddie Arnet Johnson. He asked his mother where she got
it.
“She doesn’t even know,” “Our” Eddie said. “I was one of seven kids. She was probably like ‘I’m gonna be creative on this one’. She had a right to be creative, she had to carry me.”
But back to the lessons.
Slow down. Do your research. Be excellent. And if you make a mistake own it, correct it and move on.
Who knows, maybe there’s even a silver lining?
“It’s a good and bad thing,” “Our” Eddie said.
“The bad thing is, you don’t want it to happen. The good thing is, well, they were wrong this time. That’s the way I look at it.”