Miami Heat Players Give Spike Lee the Cold Hollywood Shoulder, Decline Documentary

Some suggest that the Miami Heat players aren’t fans of famed director Spike Lee. Last week, allegedly, the team who won their second NBA Championship defeating the San Antonio Spurs, flat out refused to speak to Lee hours before the final game. The 56-year-old, Oscar nominated director and avid New York Knicks fan, approached the team about participating in a short film about basketball for the ABC network. The film would have been a condensed version of Lee’s 1998, ‘He Got Game’ which co-starred Denzel Washington as the father to Miami heat star Ray Allen’s character, Jesus Shuttlesworth, a top ranked high school basketball player. According to reports,

Lee was told by the Heat public relations staff that Allen does not speak at shoot-arounds. Lee than asked if Allen would make an exception and speak to him. Allen still refused. Lee then requested to speak to Mario Chalmers, Shane Battier and Mike Miller and was turned down by all three.

A spokesperson for the team said that players would have spoken with Lee had he approached them the day before, which was dubbed a practice day. Instead, Lee approached the team nine hours before game time. But some suggest that the Heat’s decision to not participate was more personal for them. In 2012, Spike Lee told MTV has some choice words about the Heat stating:

 I rather the Lakers win it than the Heat. I do not want the Heat to win back-to-back. Hell, no.

Could that have the reason for the cold shoulder? Although Lee was denied by the organization, Lee was a good sport, and wished the team good luck. In other Spike Lee news, Lee is working on promoting “Kobe Doin’ Work,” a documentary on Los Angeles Laker star Kobe Bryant. 

[Instagram, Miami Herald]

-@_deeroberts