Jay Williams says some NBA players are coming across as ‘tone-deaf’
By Amy Kaplan
Jay Williams says some NBA players are coming across as tone-deaf in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
ESPN’s Jay Williams talked about something that a lot of us “regular people” have maybe been feeling but never really wanted to say out loud. He thinks some of the social media complaints and posts that NBA players are sharing about their food, accommodations and other things from the NBA bubble come off as a little insensitive considering what the world is going through at the moment.
“NBA players cannot be tone-deaf,” Williams said. My NBA brothers, you cannot be tone-deaf right now in this current environment,” Williams said. “We all know the life that NBA players live, you are blessed, get a chance to be on planes, get a chance to have millions of dollars in your bank account, you live a different level of life. But that is drastically different than what real everyday working Americans are going through right now.
We all have the right to complain but doing it publicly is different issue. I don’t need some of my #NBA brothers complaining publicly about quality of living & food accomodations in a billion dollar bubble during a pandemic. Tell me your thoughts. pic.twitter.com/cm9JARkmO0
— Jay Williams (@RealJayWilliams) July 12, 2020
Some of the complaints that have surfaced are things like Tyus Jones’ photo of a cockroach, something many of us deal with regularly. Or the complaints from multiple athletes lamenting having to eat Velveeta microwave meals, something many families have had to survive on after losses of jobs and hoarding in grocery stores.
Another gripe is the living conditions that one player equated to starting at Motel 6.
Rajon Rondo doesn’t seem pleased with his Orlando room. pic.twitter.com/hjwB2g0tk8
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) July 9, 2020
Whatever the complaints, Williams wants to players to get some perspective.
“You’re in a billion-dollar bubble,” he added. “If you want to complain about the anxieties you have from COVID-related issues, I get it, complain about that. We all have the right to complain about that. But when I hear NBA guys complaining about living facilities, food that they have being delivered to them, it is tone deaf. It is tone deaf. I want you to think about people who are everyday working people who are making minimum wage trying make ends meet, that are going to factories, that are going to really harsh working environments.”
The NBA season is set to restart in mid-July after halting in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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