Richardson Jefferson Issues Public Apology After Getting Bashed for Insensitive Dejan Milojevic Comments

The Golden State Warriors five-game win streak came to an end. They faced a Kawhi Leonard-less Los Angeles Clippers team at the Chase Center, For three quarters, they had the upper hand. It could be said that they were dominating the Clippers, who had plunged into a 12-point deficit to open the fourth quarter. However, some elite shot-making and poor defense from the Warriors allowed the Clippers to outscore them by 16, eventually winning 130-125. Yet, the home team slipping so embarrassingly wasn’t the biggest takeaway from the game. Richard Jefferson took the headlines.

Dejan Milojevic, the assistant coach of the Warriors was an integral and well-respected part of their family. He had been with the team since 2021. Many players on the roster shared an invaluable bond with him. That’s the reason the Warriors felt sorrow and pain when he tragically passed away at a team dinner in Utah last month.

His death traumatized the squad. The NBA allowed the franchise a break. He has since become a symbol in the Bay. The Warriors have dedicated the season to celebrating his legacy. Working as the announcer for the game, Jefferson said something many saw as insensitive and cruel.

Richard Jefferson explains his sentiments regarding Milojevic comments

When the Warriors returned from their break to play the Hawks, they gave Milojevic a fitting tribute. A video honoring him, t-shirts with his initials on them, and even a place on the court to always remember him. His initials ‘DM’ sight on the court encapsulated within a heart. As they showed the various efforts the Warriors franchise took to honor their late assistant coach, Richard Jefferson also elaborated on the profound impact he had on the team.

He suggested that Milojevic’s death brought the team together. His choice of words, however, was debatable.

“The team may have needed it in that moment,” said the former Cavaliers forward. 

Jefforson’s motives might have been pure. He was trying to say how Milojevic’s death helped the Warriors see beyond the horizon and put aside their difference. His wording didn’t deliver on the sentiment, however. Fans immediately called him out. An army of enraged NBA fans asked him to issue a public apology. So he somewhat did.

Speaking about his high school experience, the mostly humourful analyst said the death of HOF coach Lute Olsen’s wife during his high school season helped the team bond and forget about their petty issues.

“When Lute Olson’s wife passed away my junior in college we all took time to realize that any petty issues we had were not important. We used the terrible moment to come together and just focus the precious moments we had together,” he wrote on X.

In another tweet, Jefferson said “It’s a very emotional time for all my brother on the Warriors and the entire NBA family. I might have fumbled my words there but anyone trying to make it something else doesn’t understand our NBA family,”

It wasn’t exactly an apology as much as it was clarifying his intentions when he spoke on the telecast. Jefferson is of the opinion that the “NBA family” knew just what he meant. The fans weren’t satisfied. They felt Richard Jefferson should have had the decency to simply apologize.

None of the Warriors players or Steve Kerr have said anything about it yet.

READ MORE-“Nobody Needs To Encounter Death”: NBA Millionaire’s “Horrific” Dejan Milojevic Blunder Finds No Mercy Among Warriors Fans

Do you think Jefferson should have just said sorry? Let us know what you feel in the comments below.

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