Kenny Smith and his gender-biased comments on live TV after Stephen Curry dropped 29 to emerge, the 3-point challenge winner has quickly caught fire. As it would naturally be. In a world where everyone is trying to lessen the gap between such disparities, here we have a prominent figure doing the opposite. Sabrina Ionescu had opted to throw her shots from the NBA line rather than the WNBA line.
And that was the context for Smith’s comment. The 2x All-Star landed 26 points, but the 2x 3-point contest champion managed to stay focused to not mess up his last chance. And Steph succeeded. But the NBA world wasn’t done with Kenny by any means.
The Atlanta Hawks assistant coach Brittni Donaldson took to X to share her thoughts on the same. “Sabrina hitting the exact score that Dame won with, losing to Steph, and the immediate commentary being “welp, she should’ve shot from the women’s line,” pretty much sums up our experience if ya’ll are wondering,” she said.
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Sabrina hitting the exact score that Dame won with, losing to Steph, and the immediate commentary being “welp, she should’ve shot from the women’s line 🤷♂️” pretty much sums up our experience if ya’ll are wondering 😂
— Brittni Donaldson (@brittni__d) February 18, 2024
Serena Williams’ husband, Alexis Ohanian, immediately retweeted this tweet agreeing with the coach. Being married to a woman who made her mark in sports, Ohanian is no stranger to seeing how these remarks are so casually thrown around, and his agreement with Donaldson goes to show that there is no place for any comments like the ones Kenny Smith made.
He is also well aware of the kind of struggles these athletes face in the professional field. So, it was no wonder that he would identify with the Hawks’ coach. But they aren’t the only ones who came forward in support of the New York Liberty star.
Embiid showcases his support for Sabrina Ionescu with just as a casual remark as Kenny
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Minutes after “The Jet” passed what he thought was a lighthearted banter, Joel Embiid took to X with an equally casual comment. The Philly big man proposed the only reason for Kenny’s careless remark which was that he had been drinking.
Given how the NBA has been taking huge steps to bridge the gap between genders, for someone who is still very much a part of the organization to make a mockery can only have such an explanation. If Smith thought the American audience and the world, would see it as nothing more than one of his quirky remarks, he was sorely mistaken.
Read More: Shaquille O’Neal’s Attempt at Goading Sabrina Ionescu Into Controversial Take on Live TV Fails
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If anything, the 2x ex-NBA champion understood that he crossed a line tonight. And that there is a time and place for everything. Hopefully, he learned his lesson.
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