Despite pulling another international shocker against Argentina, the Nigerian basketball team appeared to have been infuriated with an ESPN reporter Stephen Smith, for calling out their names in a disrespectful manner.
As part of their preparation for the Olympics in Tokyo, Nigeria’s D’Tigers had on Sunday, defeated the United States in Las Vegas to become the only African side to achieve such feat.
However, Nigeria’s victory over the world’s highest ranked team generated several negative reactions from the media and fans and Smith was among those who reacted negatively to the result.
The 53-year-old rubbished the names of Nigerian players while conducting an interview and posted it on social media.
He said on ESPN: “There’s no excuse to lose to Nigeria. “[To lose to] some dude Gabe Nnamdi, who goes by Gabe Vincent for the Miami Heat. Or Caleb Agada. Or Nma … however the hell you pronounce his name.”
Nigerian stars began to respond to Stephen’s post one after another. Nnamdi Okoye was first to make a comment as he said: “Most disrespectful thing I’ve heard in a while. Stephen is violating over 200 million Njgerian’s with statements like this.
“Those 3 men that he mentioned worked way to hard to be dismissed like that. Say our names properly or don’t say them at all.”
Josh Okogie was next: “You can critique the other team without disrespecting us. Put some respect on the flag and the mother land! Don’t forget where your ancestors came from.”
The Nigerian Basket Ball Federation were not left out in the response: “You can lament your loss without slandering the players who gave blood and sweet to grind out a win. “Put some respect to their names.”
