There's no denying that Christian Laettner was an exceptional college basketball player, but his cocky and fiercely competitive persona, handsome looks, remarkable winning streak (he played in four final games and helped his college win two national championships throughout the course of four years!), and the simple fact that he attended the notoriously preppy'n'privileged Duke University made him a much despised figure in his prime. Well, it turns out that there's a bit more to Laettner than meets the eye: Contrary to popular belief, Laettner was actually from a scrappy lower middle-class blue collar background instead of born into wealth, his innate toughness and bully-like nature stemmed from the rough tutelage he received from his extremely demanding older brother Chris, his reason for occasionally coming down hard on his teammates was done to get them to kick up their game when it counted most (teammate Bobby Hurley in particular really got the brunt of this), and, even though his whiteness defied rather defined 1990's black hip hop culture, Laettner was close friends with black teammate Grant Hill, which later served as prime fodder for a pernicious gay rumor about Laettner. By presenting all sides of the matter through illuminating interviews with family, friends, coaches, fellow teammates, rival teammates, and Laettner himself, director Rory Karpf states a credible case that all the hatred folks still feel for Laettner isn't 100% warranted. Smoothly narrated by Rob Lowe, this documentary overall makes for a highly rewarding viewing experience regardless of whether you like or dislike Christian Laettner.

30 For 30 should be called "I Hate Coach K"Maybe in Kentucky they hate Christian Laettner but for the rest of us I think it's more of a dislike of Coach Rat Face. I don't think there is another coach who is a bigger crying bitch to the refs and to the point the refs seem to be in his pocket. Should a coach or man his age really have that much paint in his hair? Maybe it's easier for the refs to be able to see Coach K with all the paint in his hair from the sidelines so the refs will know what calls Coach K wants called? As always 30 for 30 does a great job with their documentary's, it's just they totally whiffed on the naming and direction they took in this episode. Laettner has been irrelevant for a loong time now, and his NBA career was, well..... So, if he his hated now then it's only by his neighbors, people sitting behind him in traffic and the cashier ringing up all his ingredients for his famous fruit salads. Where is Coach K is hated year round while he's still a crying like a bitch on the sidelines of every game, every season and paying refs to be in his pocket.

When you watch this show, you need to understand that the premise is NOT that Christian Laettner is evil or the spawn of Satan. Instead it tries to determine the many reasons why there is an odd and disproportionate hatred of this college basketball player. Sure, he was a bit cocky and did a few things on the court that were jerky, but there have been many worse players. However, his ability to rise to the occasion and win the big games and do well in front of huge crowds made him unique--and his ability to deliver in the big games made him a spoiler. The show has a lot of old footage and many interviews--including Laettner, his fans and a few folks who really dislike him. However, I think the most telling was the guy who sang the YouTube song about how he hates Laettner and wrote about this...yet he does admit that Laettner was possibly the greatest college player ever! Well worth seeing and well made like nearly all the "30 for 30" programs.

30 for 30: I Hate Christian Laettner (2015) **** (out of 4)Excellent documentary from ESPN's "30 for 30" series takes a look at perhaps the greatest collage basketball player as well as the most hated one and both honors belong to Chistian Laettner. The Duke player made a splash in college by making it to four Final Fours, winning to Championships and perhaps hitting the most famous shot in basketball history against Kentucky. Laettner has four current NCAA Tournament records, made the original Dream Team and played 13 years in the NBA.So why is he so hated? Well, the film breaks it down to five reasons as to why he's hated and this is the fun of the picture. We get interviews with Laettner, Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams, Bobby Hurley, Jalen Rose, Jim Calhoun, Dick Vitale, Jay Bilas and even the likes of Ken Jeong and Ric Flair among many others. All of these people tell you why they either hate Laettner or respect what he was able to do. Obviously, Kentucky fans hate Laettner because he broke their hearts with a terrific shot that is shown each and every year.The documentary does a fantastic job at not only asking why Laettner is so hated but also what makes people take sports so serious. I mean, it's clear that if a player is cocky and people like him then that cockiness is looked at as a strength. If, like the case of Laettner, people don't like you, then being cocky is looked at as a bad thing. I really loved the way the documentary broke this hatred down by various categories and managed to make you realize that the reason for much of the hate wasn't necessary. We learn a few facts about Laettner including the fact that he wasn't a rich spoiled kid like so many thought. We even take a look at the Kentucky game where many people believe he shouldn't have been around to make "the shot" because earlier in the game he stomped a guy's chest. What people forget about this is that the player earlier someone hit Laettner in the back and sent him to the floor and if this here hadn't happened, well, then Laettner wouldn't have done what he did.I HATE Christian LAETTNER is one of the better films in the series because of its subject matter. There's no question that Laettner can get people's blood boiling because of his attitude and the fact that he was a pure winner. Getting to hear from those who played against him and for him was a lot of fun and there's some great footage here from various incidents where Laettner had to go into opposing team's gyms and take quite a bit of abuse. This one here is certainly not to be missed.