Somewhere in between the duels of the American frontier and good, old-fashioned "Rock, Paper, Scissors" is the path of conflict resolution chosen by former Philadelphia 76er and Villanova Wildcat Tim Thomas, who hates hotheaded former NBA counterpart Kenyon Martin.
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Thomas was an impact player for the Wildcats in 1996-97 and went on to be drafted 7th overall by the then-New Jersey Nets, the same team that would make Cincinnati's Martin the first overall pick in the NBA draft three years later.
These two men despise each other for reasons that probably should have been worked out years ago, but the present day beef stems from a hard flagrant foul delivered by Jason Collins in the 2004 NBA playoffs, when Thomas was a New Yok Knick. A drive to the basket was thwarted by Collins and Thomas, who played his first two seasons with the Sixers, wound up writhing on the ground.
For some reason, Thomas directed his ire not at Collins but at Martin. He called Martin "fugazi" (fake) and proceeded to get into a series of spats with his nemesis, jawing with him at a New York City club in the early aughts and then — as legend has it — slapping him in the face with $1,500 cash at another club in Dallas. The whole saga is broken down by The Big Lead, but ultimately an olive branch extended by Al Harrington, a teammate of Martin's in Denver, proved unsuccessful during a meeting in Harrington's kitchen last spring.
What Thomas wanted was a charitable boxing match with Martin, and it now appears he will get one with the help of none other than rapper 50 Cent. (Warning: Video contains explicit language).
Martin was always a feisty player, so it's hard to imagine he won't be equally tough to take down in the ring. Here's to hoping Thomas can put his money where his own mouth is this time around. A date has not yet been set for the bout between Thomas and Martin.