Brandon Roy (left) and Luc Longley (right) have agreed to disagree on matters such as the Sydney Funnelweb (center).
SEATTLE—There is no love lost between NBA superstars Brandon Roy and Luc Longley. Suprisingly, however, their rivalry does not originate in the gym, but rather in the lab.
Former University of Washington guard Brandon Roy’s recent scientific findings have the entire nation of Australia in an uproar. Among those leading the voice of opposition is former NBA legend Luc Longley.
“Roy is out of line,” Longley told reporters Monday. “He’s touching a sensitive subject with those Sydney Funnelwebs. That is Australia’s claim to fame. The Funnelweb is the deadliest spider in the world. The entire world.”
Roy released a scientific study last weekend that indicated that “no spider species anywhere can properly be called ‘deadly’,” which generated no small share of comments, mostly from Australians who were certain their country at least had truly deadly spiders, including the Sydney Funnelweb Spider Atrax robustus and the Redback Spider Latrodectus hasselti.
Roy’s response? “To start with, Luc and all these people have misunderstood what I said. I never claimed that no human ever died from spider venom. What I said was that there is no species whose bite kills as many as 10% of its victims, nor any spider that kills within minutes, like in the movies. This applies just as strongly to Australia and Brazil as to the USA.”
Roy backed up his point using Australian data. “According to the Australian Spiders FAQ, the number of human deaths from authentic spider bites of any kind in Australia since 1979 has been zero. A recent published medical study followed 750 genuine Australian spider bite cases with identified spiders over 27 months (1999-2001). Only 44 bites (6%, mostly redback spider bites) had significant effects. Only 6 redback bites and 1 Atrax bite were serious enough to need antivenom. In no case was there any sign of allergic response to spider venom, and I have only seen one such case in North America in 34 years.”
And what of the boast of the Funnelweb being the “world’s deadliest?” Roy challenged: “Atrax robustus, the Sydney Funnelweb Spider, is often publicized as the ‘world's deadliest.’ Authentic medical information (click here for details) suggests otherwise. There have been no deaths (out of 30-40 bites per year) since antivenom was introduced in 1980. During the 53 year period 1927-1979 there were 13 or 14 known deaths, which would be a death rate of under 1%! Although one child died in 15 minutes, adult fatalities typically took 2-3 days. 90% of Atrax bites are judged not serious enough to need antivenom.”
Roy went further to explain that most serious spider bites in Australia are from the Redback, Latrodectus hasselti, a close relative of American black widows with very similar venom and effects. The recent study mentioned above tallied 56 genuine redback bites. Only 37 (66%) had any serious effects, and only 6 (11%) were serious enough to need antivenom. There have been no redback-caused human deaths in several decades.
Roy’s concluding statement said: “Most medical conditions blamed on spiders by physicians lack confirmation that any actual spider was involved in the case. Spider bites of all kinds are rare events (as opposed to other bites and medical conditions that get wrongly blamed on spiders). Although it is possible for a spider bite to cause death, that is a very unlikely outcome and does not happen in enough cases to justify calling any spider ‘deadly.’”
Luc’s response to this? “I think Brandon Roy needs to be focusing more on the basket than the beakers,” he remarked. “I would like to see him come face to face with a Funnelweb and then tell me how harmless they are.”
Roy answered with appeal to facts. “The facts are there. There is no need for me to defend my position. Aussies are too prideful. They always try to one-up America. They claim they have a cattle ranch bigger than Texas, the deadliest spider, the best rugby players, the better ways of spelling, and the list goes on. Do you want to know what I think they’re really cheesed about? That they’re still under rule of the Brits and we’re not. They’ve got convict blood in them, and Luc Longley’s no exception.”
Longley was surprised by Roy’s boldness. “All I have to say now is, good thing we didn’t play each other in the NBA, or I’d annihalate that rookie. Who-Dub? Pac-Who? B Roy, you don’t know me!”
Roy’s response? “Look, Luc, better leave me alone, before waste you in one-on-one and send you home! I am the Roy, belee-dat! One on one, y’all, Luc reach, I teach! Bring it!”
Translation: Luc, I challenge you to a game of one-on-one.
Luc accepted the challenge. “This guy’s a petty rook, mayte. No worries, I’ll bring him down just like all those yanks, fair dinkum!”
Translation: Brandon is a rookie. Because of his inexperience, I will win.
In ten seasons from 1991 to 2001, Longley averaged 7.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.5 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game. Roy is a rookie this year for the Portland Trail Blazers. He is averaging 13.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game.
Numbers seem indecisive? Think about experience. Luc has played in 567 NBA games. Roy has played in a total of 13. But often with inexperience comes youth. Luc will be 38 on January 19th. Roy is 22. Former Washington teammate Ryan Appleby said: “Roy will be runnin circles around Luc. It’s like playing one on one with your old man.”
What about size? Longley’s 7-foot-2, 265 pound presence seems to dwarf the 6-foot-6, 215 pound Roy.
But Roy is not intimidated by Luc’s size. “Often your strength is really your weakness,” he said in the pregame conference, “and if Luc’s game is any sort of reflection of his scientific reasoning, I won’t have too much difficulty beating him.”
So what was the outcome of the game? Officially, the game is written in the books as SUSP. We all know what that means. Suspended. Roy was leading seven to one and went in for a drive when he was fouled hard by Longley, resulting in a reciprocation by Roy. Both were ejected following a scuffle and the game was suspended.
Luc Longley (left) and Brandon Roy (right) didn’t play long before the game became too heated to finish.
Source: http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/spidermyth/myths/downunder.html
Source: http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/spidermyth/myths/downunder.html
