Almost every major sports show on television has a former professional athlete hosting. Whichever network came up with the idea first struck gold with this one. Fans eat up everything these former stars say, and I'm sure the ratings reflect that. One major problem with these guys hosting is that current players don't like a lot of what the former, say, NBA players have to say about them.
Tons of critics made negative comments about the USA men's basketball team, and Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green had an issue with critics. His latest target is Kendrick Perkins. The former Boston Celtics big man currently works for ESPN as an NBA analyst. He's blossomed into one of the most entertaining analysts on television, but sometimes his takes are taken as disrespect to current players such as Draymond Green.
Just an all-time great @Money23Green quote when asked by @annkillion if this gold means more than the one in Rio 2016. UNEXPECTED TWIST #ActLikeIt pic.twitter.com/hNpoqO897D
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) August 7, 2021
(via Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times)
“You turn on American sports talk TV, and you got guys like Kendrick Perkins, you know, doubting us. Somebody needs to teach these people some loyalty. How about you cheer for your country? But then when guys don't play, ‘Oh, you need to go represent the country.' And then you lose, hit a little bump in the road. And everybody's, ‘Oh, everybody's caught America.' You are an American, too. Act like it. Do your job. You know, I do some media stuff. I understand doing your job. But, when you talk about a special group, you better be sure you're right. And a lot of people got it wrong. And trust me, I'll be posting those guys. I'll be posting everybody I found who said something. No one holds people accountable anymore, but I will,” Green told a group of media members post-game.
The Olympics two-time gold medalist Green has never been quiet whenever he feels disrespected. Big Perk isn't the only former NBA player in media he's had a verbal exchange with publicly. TNT's Charles Barkley is another guy Green, and other NBA players believe can be overly critical or disrespectful.
Most of the time, these guys eventually see each other in person and laugh about it. Sometimes they don't, and they stay at odds. NBA players always had a strange relationship with the media. When former professional athletes got into the press, players think that it would be essential to get the perspective of someone who played in the NBA. Now it seems things might have backfired.
Professional athletes like NBA players sometimes have more extensive and wilder takes because of their background. So some things will never change. The media will always have strange relationships with athletes. In return, that makes sports that much more entertaining. Don't expect these wild, crazy takes from folks talking sports on television to stop anytime soon.
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