Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons may be a fan favorite in the NBA, but the same cannot be said about his reputation in his home country of Australia.
Simmons has been involved in several controversies lately, and one Australian broadcaster decided to lash out at him.
Per news.com.au, radio broadcaster Alan Jones blasted Simmons for withdrawing from his commitment to the Australian national men's basketball team. Ben was originally part of the Boomers squad that will compete in China for the FIBA World Cup, but he decided to back out in order to focus on the upcoming NBA season with the Sixers.
He has also withdrawn from Australia's exhibition games against Team USA on August 22 and 24.
“He had promised to play for Australia at the upcoming World Cup only to pull out due to scheduling issues. He withdrew from the warm up games even though fans had spent hundreds of dollars hoping to watch him play,” Jones said.
Simmons did go to Australia to hold some basketball youth camps, but according to Jones, the NBA All-Star snubbed fans who patiently waited to see him.
“I’m told he held two training camps for junior basketball players in Sydney and Melbourne. I understand that when he arrived he walked straight past the fans, who had been waiting for hours, he refused to sign autographs or say hello,” Jones added
Jones finished his rant by telling the Sixers All-Star to head back to the United States and stay there.
Simmons has yet to respond to these comments. However, it's highly likely that he'll just shrug them off. Either way, this isn't a good look for the young Sixers point-forward.
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