Page 4
Portland Observer
B lack H ¡StOiy Month ____________ February 22, 2012
Another Setback for Oden
Often-injured
center out for
the season
(AP)— G reg O den has suffered
yet another setback with his trouble­
some knees.
The often-injured 7-foot center was
undergoing a m inor procedure M on­
day to clear out debris in his left knee
in Vail, Colo., when the surgeon d e­
term ined there was additional dam-
Greg Oden
num ber o f physical challenges in his
playing career and today is yet an­
other significant setback for him ,”
age and perform ed m icrofracture sur­ Trail Blazers President Larry M iller
gery, the Portland Trail Blazers said. said in a prepared statement. “W e
The form er No. 1 pick in the 2007 have a lot o f em pathy for G reg and his
N B A d ra ft h a s n o w h a d tw o fam ily during this difficult tim e.”
O den, w ho has not played in an
m icrofracture surgeries on his left
knee, and one on his right. He has NBA gam e since Dec. 5, 2009, has
also undergone surgery for a frac­ appeared in 82 career gam es for the
Blazers, averaging 9.4 points and 7.3
tured left kneecap.
The Blazers say O den will not play rebounds.
It was expected that he m ight be
this season.
“It’s hard to put into w ords the able to play this season, but a checkup
heartbreak for everyone involved, before the start o f training cam p in
but especially for Greg. H e’say o u n g D ecem ber reportedly revealed con­
m an w ho has experienced a great cerns about a non-w eight-bearing
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ligam ent in the left knee, further set­
ting back his rehabilitation.
O den w as a restricted free agent
heading into this season. T he B laz­
ers and O den initially agreed to an
$8.9 m illion qualifying offer for this
year, but w hen the setback w as a n ­
no u n ced the tw o sides restructured
the deal, w hich w as d ro pped to $ 1.5
m illion. H e w ill becom e an u n re­
stricted free agent follow ing this
se a so n .
O den has turned dow n several
interview requests this season.
Shortly after the new s about the
latest surgery broke, B lazers fo r­
w ard L aM arcus A ldridge posted on
T w itter: “P raying for m y bro G .O .
get b etter!”
Portland’s acting general m anager
C had Buchanan told reporters that
the team knew there was the possibil­
ity o f an additional m icrofracture sur­
gery w hen he went in for the proce­
dure. The doctor found tw o defects,
he said.
Buchanan was asked w hether the
latest surgery m ight m ean the end of
O d en ’s career.
“G reg ’s still very young, in rela­
tive terms, for a professional basket­
ball player. H e’s recovered from a
couple o f these before— his last tw o
m icrofracture lesions have healed
fine,” B uchanan said.
Police Use of
Force Review
Investigators
want to hear
from the public
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T he Justice D epartm ent w ill host
a m eeting to get com m unity input
concerning the investigation o f use
o f force policies and practices in the
Portland Police B ureau.
T he U. S. A tto rn ey ’s O ffice for
O regon, in conjunction with the Civil
R ights D ivision, will conduct a tow n
hall m eeting w ith m em bers o f the
public on T uesday, Feb. 28 from
6:30p.m . to8:30p.m . at theSt. John’s
C om m unity C enter, 8427 N. C entral
St.
T he Ju stice D epartm ent opened
a civil investigation last June in o r­
d er to d eterm ine w hether the Police
B ureau has engaged in a pattern or
p ra c tic e o f u se o f fo rc e w h ich
am ounts to a violation o f ci vil rights.
L ast A ugust, the federal investi­
gators co nducted individual inter­
view s w ith m em bers o f the public.
N ow any individuals w ho have spe­
cific and recent inform ation they
w ould like to share about their p er­
sonal interaction w ith PPB officers
are invited to participate in this tow n
hall m eeting.
If you are unable to attend the
tow n hall m eeting, you can also
c o n ta c t fe d e ral in v e stig a to rs by
e m a il
*
at
com m unity .portland@ usdoj .gov or
call 1-877-218-5228.