If you remember watching Darko Milicic play basketball (and why would you), you might recall he had quite a temper.
Well, as it turns out, that mean streak followed him from the NBA hardwood all the way to a Serbian stable.
Milicic, who was taken second overall in the 2003 NBA Draft and now is considered one of the biggest busts in league history, spilled his guts in a column published by ESPN’s Sam Borden on Wednesday. It’s a fascinating read, but one of the most revealing excerpts pertains to a time when Milicic had a physical confrontation with a horse.
It all started when the 32-year-old Serbian reportedly took his son, Lazar, riding on a “really, really big horse.” Lazar, who was 5 or 6 years old at the time, eventually was bucked off the saddle and left hanging down the side of the horse.
Then, Milicic took action.
“Darko and another man ran out into the ring, shouting,” Borden wrote “They were able to control the horse after a few seconds, but even once the horse was subdued, Darko found himself quivering. He scooped Lazar up and held him close. Lazar was crying.
“Darko was so scared for his son and so angry that he turned around and slugged the horse in the face. ”
Despite the brutality of the moment, it apparently was a learning experience for Milicic.
Known for blaming others for his NBA failures, Milicic, at the time, also blamed the horse for the incident, according to Borden. But now he takes responsibility.
“I didn’t train (the horse),” Milicic told Borden. “It’s on me.”
Apparently, uneven temperament and a lack of accountability weren’t the only things that bogged down his NBA career.
Thumbnail photo via Brace Hemmelgarn/USA TODAY Sports Images
