Paul Shirley - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Paul Murphy Shirley is an American professional basketball player, most recently a member of Unicaja Málaga in the Spanish ACB

Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto

The Liga ACB, known as the Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in Spain. It was founded in 1956 with the name of Liga Nacional. The league changed its name to the current one in 1983. The league is rated as one of the three "A" level European...

. He is also a writer

Writer

A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

, with his primary focus on his basketball experiences.

Shirley is noted for briefly maintaining an online journal while playing for the Phoenix Suns

Phoenix Suns

The Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association and the only team in their division not to be based in California. Their home arena since 1992 has been the US...

in 2004-05

2004-05 NBA season

The 2004–05 NBA season was the 59th season of the National Basketball Association . It began on November 2, 2004 and ended June 23, 2005. The season ended with the San Antonio Spurs defeating defending champion Detroit Pistons 4–3 in the NBA Finals....

. His first journal dealt with a several-day-long road trip, while the second chronicled the Suns' NBA Playoffs

NBA Playoffs

The National Basketball Association Playoffs is a best-of-seven elimination tournament among sixteen teams in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference , ultimately deciding the final four teams who will play in the NBA Conference Finals.-Format:Following the NBA regular season, eight teams in...

run. After their playoff elimination, the Suns did not re-sign him, as he rarely played in his twelfth man position. He was the author of a blog

Blog

A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...

for ESPN

ESPN

Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

.com entitled "My So-Called Career".

Shirley was signed to a non-guaranteed contract by the Minnesota Timberwolves

Minnesota Timberwolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Founded in 1989, the team is currently owned by Glen Taylor...

in early October, but was cut in training camp before the start of the 2006-07 season. On an ESPN.com chat on October 23, Shirley referenced the $10 million, 5-year contract of Mark Madsen

Mark Madsen

Mark Ellsworth "Mad Dog" Madsen is an American assistant coach and former professional basketball player.Madsen played NCAA basketball at Stanford, where he finished his career ranked in the school's career top 10 in blocks and rebounds. In addition, Madsen helped the Cardinal to four NCAA...

as the reason why he was released.

Writing career

Shirley's blogs at ESPN and elsewhere contained observations on players, teams, fans, cities, sports media, cheerleaders, the game of basketball, and topics outside the athletic sphere. He commented on topics such as the USA Patriot Act

USA PATRIOT Act

The USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of the U.S. Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001...

, which he condemned as "[putting] the US on a fast-track to an Orwellian

Orwellian

"Orwellian" describes the situation, idea, or societal condition that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free society...

destiny". His writing garnered attention from national sports media, as well as other outlets such as Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...

, The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....

, and the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Shirley's first book, entitled Can I Keep My Jersey?, was released on May 15, 2007 from Random House

Random House

Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...

. A paperback version of the book was released on December 26, 2007.

In 2010, Shirley penned a long blog entry at FlipCollective.com about Haiti

Haiti

Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...

and the consequences of its earthquake

2010 Haiti earthquake

The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...

. He begins the entry by stating that he has not donated to relief efforts in Haiti and "probably will not... for the same reason that I don't give money to homeless men on the street. Based on past experiences, I don’t think the guy with the sign that reads 'Need You’re Help' is going to do anything constructive with the dollar I might give him. If I use history as my guide, I don’t think the people of Haiti will do much with my money either."

Shirley added:

"I don’t mean in any way that the Haitians deserved their collective fate. And I understand that it is difficult to plan for the aftermath of an earthquake. However, it is not outside the realm of imagination to think that the citizens of a country might be able to: A) avoid putting themselves into a situation that might result in such catastrophic loss of life. And B) provide for their own aid, in the event of such a catastrophe.

Shouldn’t there be some discourse on how the millions of dollars that are being poured into Haiti will be spent? And at least a slight reprimand for the conditions prior to the earthquake? Some kind of inquisition? Something like this?:

Dear Haitians –

First of all, kudos on developing the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Your commitment to human rights, infrastructure, and birth control should be applauded.

As we prepare to assist you in this difficult time, a polite request: If it’s possible, could you not re-build your island home in the image of its predecessor? Could you not resort to the creation of flimsy shanty- and shack-towns? And could some of you maybe use a condom once in a while?

Sincerely,

The Rest of the World

"

Shortly thereafter, ESPN cut ties with Shirley. The company's full statement: "He was a part-time freelance contributor. The views he expressed on another site of course do not at all reflect our company's views on the Haiti relief efforts. He will no longer contribute to ESPN."

Personal history

Shirley was born in Redwood City, California

Redwood City, California

Redwood City is a California charter city located on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California, approximately 27 miles south of San Francisco, and 24 miles north of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans from its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people, to its tradition as a port for...

and grew up near the small town of Meriden, Kansas

Meriden, Kansas

Meriden is a city in Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. The population was 706 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Meriden is located at ....

. He played high school basketball at Jefferson West High School.

Shirley worked his way from walk-on to three-year starter for the Iowa State Cyclones basketball team. He was coached first by Tim Floyd

Tim Floyd

Tim Floyd is an American college basketball coach and the current head coach of the University of Texas at El Paso Miners men's basketball team. He is also a former head coach of several teams in both the NCAA and the NBA, most recently the University of Southern California men's college...

until he left the Cyclones to become the head coach of the Chicago Bulls

Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...

and then by Larry Eustachy

Larry Eustachy

Larry Eustachy is an American college basketball coach and the current head coach of The University of Southern Mississippi's men's basketball team. He was hired as head coach on March 25, 2004. He had previously been head coach of the men's basketball teams at Idaho , Utah State and Iowa State...

. His notable teammates included future NBA players Jamaal Tinsley

Jamaal Tinsley

Jamaal Lee Tinsley is an American professional basketball player. Tinsley was drafted out of Iowa State University by the Vancouver Grizzlies with the 27th pick of the 2001 NBA Draft, and was immediately dealt to the Atlanta Hawks, and then on to the Indiana Pacers on draft night...

and Marcus Fizer

Marcus Fizer

Darnell Marcus Lamar Fizer is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent.- High school career :Fizer played high school basketball at Arcadia High School in Arcadia, Louisiana...

. The Cyclones

1999-2000 Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team

The 1999–2000 Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team represents Iowa State University in the 1999–2000 college basketball season. The team was led by second-year head coach Larry Eustachy. In 1998–99, the Cyclones finished 15–15...

progressed to the Elite 8 of the NCAA basketball tournament

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship

The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...

his junior season. In his college career, he earned three Academic All-Big 12 selections and, in his senior season, was named second-team Academic All-American.

Since graduating, the 6'10" Shirley has played power forward

Power forward (basketball)

Power forward is a position in the sport of basketball. The position is referred to in playbook terms as the four position and is commonly abbreviated "PF". It has also been referred to as the "post" position. Power forwards play a role similar to that of center in what is called the "post" or "low...

for thirteen different professional teams including: the NBA teams the Phoenix Suns

Phoenix Suns

, Atlanta Hawks

Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association .-The first years:...

, and the Chicago Bulls

Chicago Bulls

, as well as Panionios Athens of the Greek A1 League

A1 Ethniki

The Greek Basket League , commonly referred to as the Greek Basketball League or Greek Basketball Championship, is the highest professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by HEBA...

, Joventut Badalona

Joventut Badalona

Club Joventut Badalona, S.A.D. is a Spanish professional basketball club based in Badalona, Catalonia, playing in the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto . Known to their fans as La Penya , it is one of only three teams that have never been relegated from the top division of the Spanish League...

, ViveMenorca, and Unicaja Málaga of the Spanish ACB League, and UNICS Kazan

UNICS Kazan

UNICS Kazan is a professional basketball club in Kazan, Russia playing in the PBL. Their home arena is Basket Hall Arena.Though officially the professional club was founded in 1991 , UNICS traces its origin back to KSU's college team Burevestnik which participated in USSR student championships...

of the Russian Super League

Russian Basketball Super League

The Russian Basketball SuperLeague is a men's professional basketball league that was the pre-eminent league of Russian professional basketball until 2010...

.

Shirley wore #45 for the Bulls and Hawks and #17 for the Suns.

He has three brothers who used to live in the Johnson County, Kansas City area

Jefferson County, Kansas

Jefferson County is a county located in Northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 19,126. Its county seat is Oskaloosa, and its most populous city is Valley Falls...

, Shirley's off-season home.

He appeared in the film Glory Road
Glory Road (film)
Glory Road is an American sports film directed by James Gartner, based on a true story dealing with the events leading to the 1966 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, in which the late Don Haskins – played by Josh Lucas – head coach of the Texas Western College led a team...

(#50 for Iowa, uncredited).

External links

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