Apparently, J.J. Redick went on TV and dismissed NBA early legend Bob Cousy by claiming he was guarded by "plumbers and firemen" (a way of claiming no one could play defense). Jerry West slapped Redick down for his "disrespect." However, I immediately noticed the real problem. In his zeal to protect an NBA legend, West ignored whom Redick was really disrespecting: plumbers and firefighters, by using them as an obviously inappropriate metaphor for "unathletic."
Essentially, Redick insulted plumbers and firefighters for not having a trait (athleticism) that no one asks them to have. It was an athlete (who was known for not being a great athlete) blatantly looking down his nose at the outside world of people who do jobs more important than entertaining. And West ignored that. Neither one of them spends enough time in the real world.