Two episodes into HBO’s Winning Time series on the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers and the building of their championship dynasty, the element that appears to be surprising most viewers is the portrayal of team icon (and then-head coach) Jerry West.
Played by Jason Clarke, the Jerry West depicted in Winning Time is a man who is never happy, prone to mood swings from rage to doubt to depression. Those who knew and worked with West assert that the series’ portrayal of him is “a total mischaracterization” and “a grave injustice.”
Add ESPN LA 710’s Travis Rodgers to those who feel West is the one character on the show that isn’t enjoyable to watch.
“I get that Jerry is complicated,” Rodgers said. “I understand that he is somebody that doesn’t experience joy. He’s talked about that. It was hard, everything was hard. His life was hard, his upbringing was hard. Losing all those championships was hard. Running the Lakers was hard. Watching the games was hard. But my goodness, are they doing him in a certain way. He looks deranged.”
Rodgers noted the scene in which West locked himself in his pool house with the shades drawn, curled up on the floor in the dark because he didn’t know how to make playing the 6-foot-9 Magic Johnson at point guard. Being made to do so was so upsetting. Only when general manager Bill Sharman told West that he could do what he wanted did he come back to life.
Allen Silwa explained that when ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne joined their show last week, she had seen all of the episodes HBO released as screeners (eight of the 10) and was bothered by how West was portrayed.
Whether or not this version of West continues throughout Winning Time‘s story will be determined over the series’ next eight episodes. (Those who have seen advance screeners or read Jeff Pearlman’s book Showtime might know for certain.) Though Jerry Buss and Magic Johnson appear to be the central characters, maybe West is one whose arc will see some change as the Lakers become successful.
Ian Casselberry is a sports media columnist for BSM. He has previously written and edited for Awful Announcing, The Comeback, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation. You can find him on Twitter @iancass or reach him by email at iancass@gmail.com.
