Two of the stars of the U.S. men’s basketball team took pleasure in answering their critics after their team triumphed in the Olympic final in Tokyo.
Team USA’s 87-82 victory over France followed weeks of bashing from the media and social media over an early loss to France and the lack of blowouts that we have been accustomed to in the past.
However, after avenging France on Saturday in the rematch at the Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo, Kevin Durant took to Instagram Live.
“They had some power rankings out. They had us fourth behind Slovenia. Come on, man,” he said, in a clip that was shared by Complex Sports.
“Talking about they’re catching up to us, like, are you serious? This skill is unmatched, you dig?”
“Shoutout to everybody that won this gold, everybody that chipped in and helped out. We’re going to the press conference, but I had to talk my s*** real quick.”
Walking next to Durant during the Instagram Live was Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green who singled out ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins.
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“Kendrick Perkins, you talk a lot of shit. A lot of shit,” Green said. “Act like you’re American.”
During the press conference, Green expanded on his comments.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Green said: “Somebody needs to teach these people some loyalty,” adding, “how about you cheer for your country.”
“You turn on American sports talk TV, and you got guys like Kendrick Perkins, you know, doubting us. Somebody needs to teach these people some loyalty. How about you cheer for your country? But then when guys don’t play, ‘Oh, you need to go represent the country.’ And then you lose, hit a little bump in the road. And everybody’s, ‘Oh, everybody’s caught America.’ You are an American, too. Act like it. Do your job. You know, I do some media stuff. I understand doing your job. But, when you talk about a special group, you better be sure you’re right. And a lot of people got it wrong. And trust me, I’ll be posting those guys. I’ll be posting everybody I found who said something. No one holds people accountable anymore, but I will.”
