Steven Adams sorry for ‘poor choice of words’ about Warrior guards
In a live postgame interview with ESPN’s Chris Broussard following his Thunder’s Game 1 win over the Warriors in the Western Conference finals, Oklahoma City center Steven Adams was asked about chasing hot-shooting Golden State backcourt duo Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson around the perimeter.
“I don’t envy guards, mate. They’re quick little —” the 22-year-old New Zealander said, pausing to search for a word before adding, “they’re quick little monkeys, those guys.”
The remark created a stir on social media, mainly because “little monkeys” can be interpreted as a racial slur against African-Americans, much the same way it was when legendary Monday Night Football broadcaster Howard Cosell made a similar remark in 1983 before Adams was even born. Broussard, who is African-American, did not appear to interpret Adams’ analogy in such a manner, laughing before the interview
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It didn’t take long for Adams to apologize publicly via USA Today’s Sam Amick:
“It was just a poor choice of words, mate. I wasn’t thinking straight. I didn’t know it was going to upset anyone, but I’m truly sorry. It was just a poor choice of words. I was just trying to express how difficult it was chasing those guys around.”
Perhaps Adams has never seen “Rocky II,” and chasing a chicken around wasn’t on the tip of his tongue.
Adams, whose mother is Tongan and whose father is British, enrolled at Notre Dame Prep in Fitchburg, Mass., for a year before playing two seasons at the University of Pittsburgh and being drafted 12th overall in 2013. He cited the cultural differences in racially sensitive terminology as one source of confusion:
“It’s just different, mate. Different words, different expressions, and stuff like that. But they obviously can be taken differently, depending on which country you’re in. I’m assimilating, mate, still trying to figure out the boundaries. But I definitely overstepped them tonight.”
Adams sounds sincere in his apology, and so this should be a learning experience for the young New Zealander. It should also be a lesson to anyone who jumped to conclusions about Adams’ racial insensitivity and preferred to focus on that over the 7-footer’s 16 points and 12 rebounds in a win.
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Ben Rohrbach is a contributor for Ball Don’t Lie and Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach
