The NBA fandom engages a lot with former players and superstars on social media. Fans who grew up with the stars at times want to know what their childhood heroes are up to post-retirement. In a similar engagement on Twitter, the NBA fandom shared their shock while recalling a tragic disaster from decades ago. A former NBA star recently shared video footage of the incident and asked everyone what they remembered about it, as fans poured in with reactions.
In 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger blew up just over a minute into its flight. The disaster cost the seven people on board their lives. Former NBA star Rex Chapman posted about the incident as fans remembered it with heavy hearts.
Rex Chapman’s post on the 1986 Challenger disaster led to numerous tributes from fans
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The former Charlotte Hornets star Rex Chapman is pretty active on Twitter. On the 37th anniversary of the Challenger disaster, Chapman posted a tweet asking fans what they were doing during the time. Although most fans were kids back then, they recalled the time with their emotional words. They also mentioned how they were too young to absorb the magnitude of the disaster.
Here are some of the reactions
Scarring.
— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) January 29, 2023
https://twitter.com/Maverick1zero/status/1619655929015984128?s=20&t=XGzpbxHVxCcbSf3HOn1dhA
7th grade. We watched this live in the gym. Messed me up for weeks.
— Dean Blundell🇨🇦 (@ItsDeanBlundell) January 29, 2023
5th grade homeroom. Teacher realized what was happening and ran to the front of the room to shut the t.v. off. She immediately asked us to pull out our books and read, but you could hear the tears.
— Habib Obi (@ObiSun) January 29, 2023
Saw it happen live with my own eyes living in Florida. 5th grade. 😢
— bottlerocket (@bottlerocket) January 29, 2023
In first grade, went to lunch after and the lunch lady sent me to principals because I told her what happened. She later apologized. https://t.co/TqVpIZyO2Y
— Ernie Green 〽️ (@RealErnieGreen) January 29, 2023
The internet had a lot of heartbreaking reactions to share. The whole country went through a difficult moment at that time mourning the loss of seven astronauts in the terrible tragedy.?Unfortunately, there were no launch escape systems at the time, as they were still under consideration by NASA. The disaster changed a lot of things as the whole world was shaken by the loss of the astronauts.
The calamity was Nationally televised by CNN, as many witnessed the shuttle blowing up, which made it one of the worst space-flight tragedies in history.
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NBA world mourned the tragic disaster back in January 1986
Back in 1986, the NBA world also mourned the loss of the seven crew members like the rest of the country. Before the Los Angeles Lakers faced the Milwaukee Bucks in 86′ at the Forum, the whole stadium observed a moment of silence for the lives lost.?
Many other games around the league followed the same, like the Atlanta Hawks and Indiana Pacers game or the New Jersey Nets and Golden State Warriors in Oakland. Not only the NBA, but the whole sports world paid their tributes in the wake of the tragedy.
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