Butler and Riley met in person on the afternoon of Jan. 7 to establish some ground rules for how this messy situation would proceed. What followed, according to sources on both sides, was instead an emotional, two-hour sit-down that left Butler bewildered by his 79-year-old boss’ behavior and Riley at a loss for how to reach the mercurial 35-year-old star.
Butler and Riley met in person on the afternoon of Jan. 7 to establish some ground rules for how this messy situation would proceed. What followed, according to sources on both sides, was instead an emotional, two-hour sit-down that left Butler bewildered by his 79-year-old boss’ behavior and Riley at a loss for how to reach the mercurial 35-year-old star.
From Butler’s vantage point, Riley was “unhinged and disturbing,” as a league source close to him described it. More specifically, Butler told those close to him that the longtime team president referenced Butler’s recently deceased father several times during the meeting, offered “unsolicited and unwanted” parenting advice and even shed tears before ending the meeting by telling Butler he loved him.