Jimmy Butler isn’t one to dwell on the past. This isn’t just because of everything he had to fight through to get to where he is, but because he’d much rather focus on the present and the future. What happened, happened, and that’s all there is to it. Leaving the past behind is a common mindset, yet Butler takes it one step farther, perhaps even too far, as Bryan Smith reports in Chicago Magazine:
Still, he loathes reliving the past—so much so that he has removed the rearview mirror on his car (yes, really) as a symbolic reminder to never look back. His coach at Marquette University, Buzz Williams, says Butler was so sensitive about his upbringing that he swore Williams to secrecy while playing for him.
When I ask why he hates talking about the past so much, Butler shifts uncomfortably on the sectional in the grand San Diego house. “It’s because I don’t ever want that to define me,” he says. “I hated it whenever it came up because that’s all anybody ever wanted to talk about. Like, that hasn’t gotten me to where I am today. I’m a great basketball player because of my work. I’m a good basketball player because of the people I have around me. And if I continue to be stuck in the past, then I won’t get any better. I won’t change, I’ll get stuck as that kid. That’s not who I am. I’m so far ahead of that. I don’t hold grudges. I still talk to my family. My mom. My father. We love each other. That’s never going to change.”
Sometimes, metaphors are best left in the figurative realm. It’s good that Butler wants to leave the past where it belongs, but — seriously — that’s incredibly unsafe. Rearview mirrors are not devices used to reflect upon one’s memories, they’re used to show you what, if any, objects are literally behind you. If a car is coming too fast behind Butler, he’s not going to be able to see it once it enters his blindspot. If an old lady is crossing the street as Butler’s backing up, he won’t see her (unless of course he’s doing the old “arm around the passenger seat, head cocked backwards” maneuver).
This also raises an important question. Butler, after signing a $95 million deal with the Chicago Bulls this summer, is an incredibly rich man who can afford very, very nice cars. Most high end cars these days have rearview cameras to go along with the standard rearview mirrors. If Butler buys one of those cars, or if he already has one, how does he cope? Does he use the camera, since it’s not a mirror, or does he stick to his principles and just simply not look at the camera at all? These are important questions, ones that deserve answers immediately.
We leave you with this Jimmy Butler gif.
