Salt in Dirk’s wounds

While searching for sports stories for today’s column, I had a few ideas.

Four Iranian soccer players were kicked off the national team for supporting political opposition candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson said if he continues with the Lakers, he might skip the road games.

Manny Ramirez played in his first game back from a drug suspension.

But a more intriguing, captivating story caught my attention.

“Nowitzki says he’s healing from breakup.”

What? A breakup story? I realize that the athlete in question – Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki – is a major NBA player. But still ... this is a headline that belongs on Perez Hilton’s blog, not Yahoo Sports.

I also realize that Nowitzki’s ex–fiance is currently in jail and possibly carrying his child. But again, these are personal details that really don’t mix with news about Thursday’s NBA Draft.

I understand that people typically care about the personal lives of celebrities. But Nowitzki isn’t Paris Hilton. He’s not Tom Brady. Unlike fellow Texas athletes Tony Parker and Tony Romo, he’s not even dating anyone famous enough to earn this amount of attention.

Most celebrities seem to resent the press magnifying their heartache, but Nowitzki for some reason answered some personal questions for a German magazine.

Really, Dirk? I don’t mind athletes who are honest – but really, is this necessary?

News like this only gives more ammunition to commentators, fans and teammates who will wonder whether his personal life is affecting his focus. I can understand the natural reaction to talk about your personal life, but if writers covered every star who went through a breakup, we’d have as many heartbreak features as game stories.

I guess I just don’t understand what Nowitzki wants. Is he looking for pity? Empathy? Relief?

Can’t he just follow the simple ice cream–in–bed diet that works for most people?

Nowitzki’s breakup is only mildly interesting because of who he is. But the news itself isn’t relevant. Thousands of people have more interesting breakup stories, but I have yet to see The New York Times have a headline “Woman finds boyfriend in bed with best friend” or “Man leaves fiance at altar.”

I’m not downplaying Nowitzki’s heartache. Breakups are painful, but they’re also personal. We shouldn’t turn athletes into Britney Spears–like figures. I don’t care about Nowitzki’s relationships any more than I care whether his toenails have been clipped in the past week. (Ew.)

So Dirk, please take time to heal, but decline the interview requests, ignore the press and dive into some ice cream.