For players in the NBA, the lockout has meant a lot of extra free time. The most common course of action is taking their talents elsewhere--Deron Williams is playing in Turkey and Kobe Bryant did a little tour of Italy, but Minnesota Timberwolves star Michael Beasley is trying a slightly different approach: ballet.
Beasley has been spending the off-season getting acquainted with different fitness regimens, a little yoga here, some karate there, but the most surprising is Beasley's admission that he has gotten into ballet dancing.
The integration of ballet into Beasley's workout may seem like a modern "Billy Elliot" fairytale, but the addition will help Beasley become more limber and in turn, have a longer career after being plagued by weak ankles and a sore hip all of last season. Despite his new routine, Beasley insists that it's more for the conditioning than a passion for dance. "I don't really dance," he told the Star Tribune. "I do it for the stretching."
This move could perhaps have a little more to do with Beasley's recent hiring of a Public Relations firm to revamp his image, but results don't lie; Beasley has dropped 15 pounds so far, down from 240 during the season.
When asked if he wore a tutu, Beasley replied, "No, no, no, no, I wear shorts and a shirt." His new artful dance moves could be just what the NBA Star's PR firm is looking to promote after being ticketed for marijuana possession in Minnesota in June and getting into an altercation with a fan at a street ball game in July. While it still remains somewhat taboo in the testosterone-fueled world of professional sports, the trend of boys doing ballet is justifiably moving towards a greater acceptance with Beasley's help.