After 10 seasons in the NBA, Michael Beasley signed with the Lakers in 2018, no doubt in pursuit of a title. While his signing was met with a lot of excitement and optimism at first, he would only play 28 games for the illustrious franchise before being traded in February.
For the most part, his tenure was relatively uneventful, save for one particular night in Oklahoma City. Before entering the game in the first quarter, Beasley was quickly stopped and reminded that he still had on his practice shorts from earlier in the day. He jogged back to the locker room to change, and the whole moment was captured on camera.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSkmvD6QSyc
It was a goofy moment for Beasley that resulted in a lot of jokes and laughs being shared at his expense.
Well, in an interview with Michael Scotto, Beasley finally broke the silence n that moment, revealing the shocking truth about what was going on behind the scenes.
Beasley: Off the court, my mom died when I was playing for the Lakers. I fought through that, and I came back. My cousin died the game I forgot my shorts in Oklahoma. I was battling that day, trying to fight through it. I wanted to go to the funeral, but I was already gone when my mom died. I just wanted to be there for the team, and the whole world just laughed at me. My whole career, I’ve never been given a chance to show who I really am, how I can really play, show that I can really win and be somebody. The whole world laughed at me. It hurt my feelings. I’m not going to lie.
Scotto: Did you say anything to anyone at the time?
Beasley: No. I don’t like pity. My mom was going through cancer, maybe a year before she told the family. She was being strong. I was trying to be strong. I was trying to show her I could be tough. That ѕhit was hard. I’m not going to lie. When it happened, it felt like an excuse. That’s why I never said anything. I thought it would die over (referring to the jokes about forgetting his shorts). That shit didn’t die. Every f*cking year that ѕhit lived on. Even my close friends don’t even know. I let them have the joke because if it makes people happy, it makes people happy, rather than going around and making people sad.
Apparently, Beasley lost his mother and cousin during the same season. That is a tough situation for anyone and it is a miracle he managed to step on the court at all. To then have to deal with the humiliation of his mistake no doubt only made it all so much worse.
For the most part, it sounds like the 11-year veteran has moved on from the ordeal, but is shocking to hear what was going on after all these years.
After his NBA comeback fell short the following season, Beasley has been disconnected from the community, only now delivering an interview that really goes in-depth about himself and his career.
At 33, it’s not too late for him to get another contract. We’ll just have to wait and see what the future has in store.
