Drake under fire over 'disrespectful' act at NBA Playoffs
On Tuesday, Toronto-born rapper and Raptors superfan Drake used the platform of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals to shine the spotlight squarely on himself.
Like an overeager poor man’s Spike Lee, Drake jumped on every opportunity to call the attention of TNT cameras and social media to himself during the Raptors’ blowout win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
There was the constant look-at-me taunting of Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo at the free-throw line.
There was his standing up next to the scorer’s table to greet Raptors players as they walked off the court.
And there was him actually placing hands on Raptors coach Nick Nurse during gameplay, an act that warrants a security escort from the arena at a minimum.
But he’s Drake, and it’s Toronto, so no biggie evidently.
While it flies in ScotiaBank Arena, Drake’s antics are drawing scorn in Bucks circles.
Georgios Dimitropoulos, an executive at Giannis Antetokounmpo’s sports agency Octagon blasted Drake on Wednesday for being disrespectful in a tweet that has since been deleted.
“Imagine a gig & an athlete on VIP seats, right next to the band, stands up on the stage just to show off during the entire game, knowing cameras are on him, occasionally even massaging the singer,” the tweet read.
“Security & him both allow it. Never seen anything as disrespectful as this before...”
Not long after, Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer got in on the act during a conference call with reporters.
“There’s certainly no place for fans — or whatever Drake is for the Raptors — on the court,” Budenholzer said. “There’s boundaries and lines for a reason.”
Drake needs to sit down.
Even as Drake stans, we can say that he needs to sit down.— Astasia Williams (@AstasiaWill) May 23, 2019
The Bucks should be more worried about their MVP missing free throws rather than Drake giving Nurse a back rub.
— Sandro Rubin (@Insider6ix) May 22, 2019
While this sounds a lot like sour grapes from a team that just lost its second straight game in Toronto — and let’s face it, it is — Dimitropoulos and Budenholzer are right. These two concepts aren’t mutually exclusive.
The vast majority of us in the sports world could do with less Drake in our lives. Even if the call is coming from a salty corner of Milwaukee, the Drake complaints speak for a greater cause.
WITH YAHOO SPORT US/Jason Owens