What to make of the ongoing Ben Simmons debate

I’d like to start this piece off by saying I’ve always been a Ben Simmons fan. Anyone who knows me or follows me on Twitter knows that. I never cared that he couldn’t shoot, and I never cared that he didn’t even pretend to get better in that area. I loved him for what he is and what he is capable of, which is being maybe the best facilitator, passer, and defender in the league.

I was there in the stadium during Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals last year, watching him do what can only be described as a public cardio workout. I watched on TV with the rest of you during Game 7, seeing him completely crumble under the pressure when the Philadelphia 76ers needed him most. Whether Simmons, his agent, or even fans want to admit it, that game was on him. There is no way around that. What has transpired since then has been a whirlwind of events that makes last May seem like years ago.

Scrolling through Twitter since the trade that sent Simmons to Brooklyn and James Harden to Philadelphia has been exhausting. Claims of fans that they know what Simmons’ mental wellbeing was like have been flying all over the place, which has turned the conversation into somewhat of a hostile and personal environment.

The bottom line is this: None of us have a clue what has been going on in Simmons’ head over the last nine months. We can pretend to know all we want, but we will never know. That does not change the fact that Simmons’ actions have public repercussions, and everything he says and does will be talked about by the media.

Simmons’ mental health is really none of our business, Philadelphia 76ers fans.

In a world where mens’ mental health is not taken nearly as seriously as it should be, I do not think Ben Simmons handled this well. I do not think he operated in good faith when communicating with the team about his mental health. I think it is completely fair to be skeptical about the entire situation, given that Simmons told the team about this just days after it was reported that it would save him millions of dollars in fines.

And yes, I was a little hurt seeing Simmons on Brooklyn’s sideline days after the trade, something he had refused to do throughout the entire season in Philadelphia. This is a fanbase that, yes, criticized Simmons when he needed to be, but would have followed him into battle day after day. The Sixers’ fan base dealt with the media’s criticism daily for five years, and defended him to their core. We only wanted him to show what we knew he was capable of showing, and the flip of the narrative I’m seeing online that the fans drove him out and never cared about him is laughable and ridiculous.

Toxic situations and environments are completely valid situations to alter the wellbeing of someone’s mental health. I have no doubt that the outpour of criticism after last year’s playoffs took a toll on Simmons. I just really think that he betrayed us more than we betrayed him. It’s increasingly hard as a Philadelphia fan to say good things about Simmons’ handling of the situation, especially in a city where Brandon Brooks and Lane Johnson of the Philadelphia Eagles have “elevated serious conversation on the subject” as recently as last year (via John McMullen on Twitter).

All in all, it is a sad situation that I am happy we no longer have to directly deal with. When it is all said and done, however, this is none of our business. I am happy that Simmons is feeling better. I am happy that he’s smiling again. As a human being, I am happy for him. As a Sixers fan, I am not happy with how he got to this point, and the tactics he used to get there.

Whatever, though. The Philadelphia 76ers just acquired one of the best scorers of all time to play alongside the leading scorer of the season and leading MVP candidate. We have a ring to chase, let’s focus on that.