One of the worst things about draft season are the stories of teams that try their hardest to “catch people off guard.” For example, during the lead up to the 2016 NFL Draft, the Atlanta Falcons felt that it was appropriate to ask now-Giants cornerback Eli Apple if he likes men. It’s an example of a team trying to make a player uncomfortable to see how he reacts, but in actuality, they just ask deeply personal questions that they have no business asking, no matter the answer.
It’s possible (if not probable) that this practice has existed in the NBA for some time. But if it has not, it finally popped up this time around, as an NBA team did its best to rattle Kentucky forward Kevin Knox.
According to Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated, Knox got interviewed at the NBA Draft Combine and was asked about having a child. The catch: Knox does not have a kid, and the team was trying to pull the wool over his eyes the entire time.
Kevin Knox says one team interview at the Combine pressed him if he had a child. Knox, was surprised, obviously replying “no.” The team asked again, saying their intel had learned he had a child. Knox asked for the kid’s name and the team finally relented, admitting it was hoax.
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) June 20, 2018
It’s really hard to imagine exactly how asking this question helped the still-anonymous team determine anything about Knox, but it’s really inappropriate to poke and prod in this way. Beyond that, there’s no practical point of asking this — it’s not like Knox would plummet down draft boards if he had a kid or anything like that, and the team isn’t going to catch him in a lie, because there’s no way any person would lie about having a kid in this manner.
The moral of the story, of course, is that NBA teams probably shouldn’t do this, nor should NFL teams. Nothing good has ever come from trying to do this sort of thing to a teenager who wants to play sports for you.
