David Portnoy, the founder, and owner of Barstool Sports, took to social media to claim that he was, and continues to actively root against Team USA at the Olympics, and hoped that France would beat Team USA by 1,000 points. He was frustrated about the lack of playtime Jayson Tatum was getting, accusing Steve Kerr of disrespecting him.
“Okay, real quick rant here on the Olympics. I’m not a big Olympics guy, I haven’t paid much attention to the Olympics… But let’s get to the basketball. A lot of back and forth, USA beat Serbia in squeaker last night. Kevin Durant on the Twitter machine, later that night, chirping at American fans who were rooting for Serbia, some Nuggets fans, and other people for other reasons…”
“I was rooting against them [Team USA], and I want France to beat them by 1,000 points. I don’t care that I’m American. The disrespect that Steve Kerr has shown Jayson Tatum throughout this tournament makes me hate this team. Jayson Tatum, brought me a world championship, an NBA championship, and banner 18.”
“I know we got other Celtics on there. I think the Celtics team would beat the Olympic team… He didn’t play him the first time, then he’s like ‘Oh, I’m an idiot’… Does it again, blames it on math. Steve Kerr, you moron, these guys were that much better than Tatum, he can’t get 5-10 minutes? Three-time All-NBA First Team.”
“Who are these guys? Curry? I like Curry, Curry played great. I hate LeBron, he’s 100 years old, and Durant and Booker are on the same team, they suck. You know who won the championship, you know who had the best players? The Celtics… To make this guy who is a true superstar in this league be embarrassed like this?”
“F**k you, Steve Kerr. Steve Kerr hasn’t done d*ck. He was handed a superteam from Mark Jackson. No control of the locker room… You can’t figure out how to get Jayson Tatum in the game for 10 minutes and not embarrass him? You were down 20 in the first half, it couldn’t have been worse.”
“These guys are not so much better, if they were so much better, they’d be holding the hardware and not us. The embarrassment they’re trying to lay on this guy, f*ck that… Durant, LeBron – Primadonnas! I am rooting, Oui, Oui! France! I’m going to be eating baguettes, I hope France smacks them, and then I hope walking out, Tatum puts brass knuckles on and breaks Steve Kerr’s jaw.”
“I was rooting against [Team USA], & I want France to beat them by a thousand points. I don’t care that I’m American. The disrespect that Steve Kerr has shown Jayson Tatum throughout this tournament."
— Dave Portnoy 😳
(via @stoolpresidente)pic.twitter.com/ktfTJdGHa3
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 9, 2024
Portnoy’s rant is beyond ridiculous. Firstly, it is hard to ignore the Celtics shirt he is wearing, so he is hardly an objective source on this. Secondly, claiming that you won’t root for your country because a player from your NBA franchise is being ‘disrespected’ is a really strange choice.
On top of that, Portnoy has blatantly disrespected Steve Kerr, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant, three people who achieved far more in their basketball careers than Tatum has. As for Durant and LeBron, while they haven’t won NBA championships in the last few years, they are still two of the best players in the world.
Jayson Tatum Didn’t Get Minutes Against Serbia At All
While Steve Kerr did show regret for not playing Jayson Tatum in their opener against Serbia, he has shown that he is willing to drop key players for the sake of tactical prudence. He even dropped Joel Embiid from the lineup when Team USA took on South Sudan.
For his part, Jayson Tatum hasn’t complained or made any stink about not getting to play in certain games. He did note that it was a humbling experience, especially after the highs he felt from winning an NBA championship, but he didn’t criticize Steve Kerr for his decision.
Perhaps Tatum will get some minutes against France in the gold medal game. It is likely that he will come off the bench for Team USA, especially since it was reported that Kevin Durant would be starting the age for the first time during the Olympics.
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