Matt Bonner, a ten-year veteran with the San Antonio Spurs, defends J.J. Watt’s “Red Ryder BB Gun” comment to fellow red-headed athlete Andy Dalton.
The San Antonio Spurs’ Matt Bonner thought that Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt’s comments to Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton were okay and he wasn’t offended by it. Like Dalton, Bonner is a red-headed professional athlete.
Bonner told USA Today’s Nina Mandell in an interview, “Honestly I think that’s a pretty good zinger. I think when you grow up with red hair you learn to have a sense of humor. There’s a ton of redheaded stand-up comedians.”
Well, Dalton didn’t handle Watt’s lame “Red Ryder BB Gun” comment well at all in his post-game press conference after the Bengals’ 10-6 loss at home to Watt’s Texans to lose their first game of the season.
Matt Bonner has played for the San Antonio Spurs the last decade and has been a part of two NBA Championship teams (2007, 2014). He’s been with the Spurs organization so long that Texas-based soda brand “Big Red” decided to honor Bonner with a limited edition Matt Bonner two-liter bottle, the original reason for Mandell’s interview with the Spurs’ big man.
The sandwich enthusiast appreciates the love from “Big Red” even though he’s not really a soda drinker. As an NBA veteran, Bonner has heard it all before about his complexion, but is most often told to “get a tan” by hecklers in the stands. Since Bonner can’t get a tan, fans are essentially telling him to go get a sunburn. That’s not nice.
Overall, Bonner seems to think that Watt’s jab at Dalton’s “Red Rifle” nickname is harmless fun. At the end of the day, Bonner still plays for the San Antonio Spurs and has done so for over a decade. He’s doing something right to stick with the best NBA organization of the last 20 years.