Charlie Villanueva reportedly was cut from the Dominican Republic basketball team for being out of shape, and he’s attempting to defend himself in response.
The Pistons forward only played 13 games for the Pistons this season because of injury, and he hasn’t been a part of the Dominican team workouts recently.
According to FIBA, Villanueva had a private work out for the team in New York and did not look good.
“Charlie was not in good form when we saw him,” Dominican team coach John Calipari said to Deportes en la Z, per FIBA.
“He was overweight, and unfortunately, we could not slow down the entire team and it was a decision taken collectively.
“Last year, Charlie behaved really well with us and his only problem was his weight.”
Villanueva was a member of the team the past few years, but they apparently weren’t happy with his conditioning last summer, so he’s no longer a part of the squad.
Upset that he was being bashed over his conditioning, Villanueva tried defending himself. He posted a picture on Twitter of himself on a scale to show he’s not overweight:
Villanueva’s playing weight is listed at 232 pounds, so that picture only seems to show that he’s 11.5 pounds overweight.
Still, Villanueva believes that picture proves his case.
“Now blog that, lol, going out for a swim now,” he tweeted.
He also tried to discredit the story by indicating he never even tried out for the team:
Last comment, How can you get cut from something, when you NEVER tried out? is that possible? i guess so, lol
— Charlie Villanueva (@CV31) June 13, 2012
It all just seems like damage control for Villanueva. He’s set to make $16.64 million over the next two seasons with Detroit, so he’ll have plenty of chances to let his play do the talking. Maybe he can use the report as motivation to look great next season for the Pistons.
Note: This post also appeared on Medal Detector
Photo Credit: Tim Fuller-US PRESSWIRE
