Steven Adams chooses the wrong words to describe the Warriors’ guards. “They’re quick little monkeys,” he says. pic.twitter.com/ss5DbHilqD
— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) May 17, 2016
The Oklahoma City Thunder shocked the world by beating the Golden State Warriors in Oakland in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, but in a postgame interview with ESPN’s Chris Broussard, Thunder center Steven Adams shocked viewers in an entirely different fashion by calling the Warriors guards “quick little monkeys.”
It’s certainly an uncomfortable moment, but it qualifies as a gaffe rather than anything more sinister. Adams, as you may be able to tell from his accent, is from New Zealand, and while playing basketball in the United States for four years has been enough to get him acclimated professionally, it’s not enough time to internalize the endless idioms of American culture. Adams, for his part, has already apologized profusely:
“It was just a poor choice of words, mate,” Adams told USA Today Sports. “I wasn’t thinking straight. I didn’t know it was going to upset anyone, but I’m truly sorry. It was just a poor choice of words. I was just trying to express how difficult it was chasing those guys around.
“It’s just different, mate,” he said. “Different words, different expressions, and stuff like that. But they obviously can be taken differently, depending on which country you’re in. I’m assimilating, mate, still trying to figure out the boundaries. But I definitely overstepped them tonight.”
Adams is one of the more refreshingly honest and funny people in the NBA, so we hope that people can give him the benefit of the doubt so he won’t retreat into himself and become another guarded athlete distrustful of the media. We have enough of those already.
(Via USA Today)
