One thing the last episodes of “The Last Dance” highlighted was the dominance and skillset of one Karl Malone — 2x MVP, 14x All-Star, and 14x All-NBA player.
But it’s hard to talk about Malone these days without bringing up his rather dark past. Malone reportedly impregnated a 13-year-old girl named Gloria Bell when he was a student at Louisiana Tech. He agreed to an out-of-court settlement with her family regarding child support payments and it went largely unnoticed as his NBA career took off.
Today, though, it’s become attached to Malone’s legacy and people are quicker to pass insults and judgment upon Malone than recognize him for anything he may have done on the basketball court.
In response, his son (KJ Malone) went on social media in defense of his father and family.
https://twitter.com/Kj63Kj/status/1262459187877027842https://twitter.com/Kj63Kj/status/1262459561975439360https://twitter.com/Kj63Kj/status/1262459693991108610
While it’s hard to ignore what Malone did, and the fact that he never really faced any consequences for it, we shouldn’t lose sight of how it’s affecting his family. By their testimony, and fans who have met Malone personally, it seems he was a decent enough man who made some very serious mistakes.
Nonetheless, the Mailman knew how to dominate on the basketball court — and that can never be taken from him.
