Kids say the darndest things! The Cleveland Cavaliers’ J.R. Smith’s daughter Demi told an ESPN reporter on Thursday, June 16, that she was happy that her dad didn’t get kicked off his team, shortly before Golden State Warriors’ Steph Curry was ejected from the NBA Finals.
“I’m just proud of him because he made the championship without getting kicked off the team,” the precocious 7-year-old said, which seemingly foreshadowed Curry’s dismissal from Game 6 after the two-time MVP argued a foul call and threw his mouthpiece in anger. (His mouthpiece hit the son of one of the Cavaliers’ minority owners sitting courtside, which Curry apologized for.)
The surprised sports correspondent immediately responded to little Demi’s remarks. “Did anybody coach you to say that?!” the interviewer exclaimed with a laugh. “…All right, Demi, that’s great.”
Earlier that evening, Curry’s wife, Ayesha, claimed that the NBA “rigged” Game 6 of the finals after her basketball star hubby was sent to the locker room.
“I’ve lost all respect sorry this is absolutely rigged for money… Or ratings in not sure which,” she wrote on Twitter. “I won’t be silent. Just saw it live sry.”
Ayesha, 27, later deleted the post and apologized for her heated remarks. She explained that she was already in a bad mood after cops apparently hassled her father at the game. “Police racial profiled my father and told him to remove credentials and tried to arrest him. It’s been a long night for me. I apologize,” she wrote. “I’m okay that we lost…I just can’t take people coming at my family for absolutely no reason. Something I don’t understand or stand for.”
After the dramatic game, Curry, 28, elaborated on the incident. “They kind of profiled my father-in-law and thought he was him,” he told The Undefeated. “They threatened to arrest him before they checked out his credentials. It’s kind of been an emotional and tough night all the way around.”
Watch the video above.
