I Am Athlete (DR) / NBA (DR)
More or less retired from the courts, JR Smith nevertheless keeps a close eye on the evolution of the orange ball. One trend in particular does not please him at all… He has therefore scratched several superstars on this subject, including Russell Westbrook.
Money is flowing in the big league, which can be seen in particular thanks to the staggering salaries received by NBA stars. However, when we question JR Smith on this, we quickly understand that the way in which the greenbacks are used by them does not suit him. During an interview with I Am Athlete, the former Laker delivered a smashing monologue on the subject. According to him, the priorities of the athletes would not be the right ones and this would be seen particularly among those of Los Angeles:
JR Smith: “We prefer to spend in nightclubs than for the community”
Russell Westbrook, Paul George, DeMar DeRozan… I think of all these guys who make a fortune, and who come from LA or around. I’m like, ‘how much are you guys making on your contract? 150, 180, 200 million dollars? Why then do you go to train in prestigious halls like UCLA, when you can do it in your home neighborhoods? You could inspire the youth there… The truth is that athletes have no problem dropping $60,000 on a nightclub, but we have a hard time going out on our own to help people in the neighborhood .
A hell of a tirade from the double champion who spared no one among the stars from the City of Angels. What the former full-back says isn’t entirely untrue, with many players known to frequent nightspots. Nevertheless, we must qualify the words of the Sixth Man of the Year 2013, since many are those who help the community through their associations. Westbrook for example manages the foundation Why Not ? which helps underprivileged children.
Besides, Smith himself hasn’t really been a role model in the past, he who was known to be a big party animal during the 2010s. Everyone remembers his obvious state of drunkenness after the coronation of 2016 with Cleveland, or strip clubs in the middle of the season when he was in New York. Everything changed, however, two years ago, according to him, enough to push him to reconsider everything:
I realized that when I won my ring in 2020. I felt like I had it all, but I still wasn’t whole because I knew I was missing something. And for a long time, I had a bad depression because I couldn’t figure out what it was. I’m tired of being a talker and not a doer. I want to be one of those who help others, that’s what matters most to me.
Big testimony from JR Smith, who does not hesitate to slash his peers to talk about serious problems within American society and sport. We are far from the problem boy on the floors of the league, 10 years ago…
