Suns star Devin Booker. (Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports)
ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy caught heat after he used a terrible choice of words to describe Devin Booker during the NBA Finals.
Jeff Van Gundy is in hot water for a problematic flub he made during Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
While describing Suns star Devin Booker, the ESPN analyst said he “looks like a choir boy, but plays like a hoodlum.”
Immediately, the choice of words was called into question on Twitter.
Jeff Van Gundy made a serious breach describing Devin Booker
NBA Twitter took notice, especially coming from an ESPN personality this week while the network deals with the fallout from Rachel Nichols comments disparaging Maria Taylor.
There was plenty of disbelief all around.
There is just no context in which calling Booker a “hoodlum” would be okay. The racial implications of that description are serious.
The fact that he paused before it, as though he was thinking about saying it, then decided to go ahead, made it worse.
Some thought he should be punished.
To lighten the mood, there were some great tweets about the need for Nick Castellanos to hit a home run during a live broadcast apology.
It’s unfortunate that Van Gundy’s awful call got in the way of fans enjoying what turned into a thrilling fourth quarter between the Suns and Bucks in Phoenix.
Phoenix led 56-45 at halftime, but Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo exploded in the third quarter to help draw Milwaukee back into the game as the fourth quarter wore on.
Booker led the Suns with 31 points and six assists going into the final minutes of the game as they tried to hold onto their lead and the chance to take a 2-0 lead in the series.