A couple of days ago, De’Aaron Fox made the headlines after he attacked the NBA and their plans to carry out the All-Star Game next month, even after they had explicitly stated the game wasn’t going to take place this year. That decision didn’t sit well with several players and Fox was one of the first to voice his disagreement with it.
“If I’m going to be brutally honest, I think it’s stupid. If we have to wear a mask and do all of this for a regular game, then what’s the point of bringing the All-Star Game back? Obviously, money makes the world go round, so it is what it is. I mean, I’m not really worried about it. If I’m voted, so be it,” he said a couple of weeks ago.
Now he had the chance to clarify his comments during a recent conversation with Shams Charania of Stadium. The Sacramento Kings guard cleared the air and stated that he should have picked better words to express his opinion and save himself from the criticism he received after that.
“I guess I could have used different words or explained it differently with the COVID situation and all that. But obviously the guys are grateful if they are named All-Stars, things like that. Where kinda I stood was, where you bring in a bunch of players together and then somebody could end up testing positive and the contact tracing goes to now, instead of two different teams to 12-16 different teams,” the young player said.
De’Aaron Fox, an All-Star reserve candidate, clarifies/reflects about comments on ASG: “Guys are grateful if they’re named All-Stars. Where I stood was you bring in a bunch of players together and then somebody can end up testing positive… If I was named one, I would go.” https://t.co/er5TfUjZ0F
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 16, 2021
He made it clear that in the case he gets elected to the game, he would go to Atlanta to represent the Western Conference.
“I guess if I was named one, I’d go but that doesn’t make the concept any less appealing than it was.”
The league has a big challenge ahead. They need to keep everybody safe in Atlanta next month. Players like LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo and more voiced their frustrations with the situation and the pressure is big for the NBA now. Nobody said they wouldn’t attend the game but they know the association has a big job to do if they want to prevent players from going off on them.
Meanwhile, Fox’s fans are trying to take him to the game but more fans are voting for other players like Klay Thompson or Alex Caruso to make the 2021 ASG.
