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Newly crowned Olympic gold medal Kevin Durant and Draymond Green hit back the media on Saturday for a lack of support in Tokyo after a rocky start, telling critics: “You are also an American. Act like this.”
The United States narrowly beat France 87-82 in the gold medal match to win the United States’ fourth straight gold in the event. The United States has long dominated the sport, winning 16 titles in 19 appearances, but Tokyo had not started as the Americans had hoped.
KEVIN DURANT LEADS THE UNITED STATES TEAM IN FRANCE; FOURTH CONSECUTIVE GOLD FOR AMERICANS
American Kevin Durant (7), right, and his teammates celebrate their victory in the men’s basketball gold medal match against France at the 2020 Summer Olympics on Saturday August 7, 2021, in Saitama, Japan. (AP Photo / Luca Bruno)
After losing both exhibition matches and the Olympic opener against France, the United States made their way through the group stages to advance to the round of 16, but doubt had subsided. installed before the United States set foot in Tokyo.
Among the most notable critics was ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins.
“I’m not at all confident,” he said during an appearance on “The jump“last month.” And it’s not disrespectful but you look at the players they have (Durant), (Green), they play cute. In a good way, okay. They get buckets. These aren’t guys going to go out there and mix it up in the trenches. ”
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Durant and Green seemed to remember those remarks and had a message for Perkins after winning the gold.
“Everyone that said we were going to take the L. They had power rankings. They had us fourth behind Slovenia. Come on, man,” Durant said on his Instagram Stories. “Talk about them catching up with us, like, are you serious?” This skill is unmatched, do you dig?
“Kendrick Perkins, you talk a lot of c —. A lot of c —,” Green interjected. “Act like you’re American.”
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Green delved into the issue in his post-game press conference, calling out to the media in general.
“You turn on American sports television, and you have guys like Kendrick Perkins, you know, doubting us. Someone’s got to teach these people a little bit of loyalty. How about you cheer on your country? Guys don’t play, ‘Oh, you’ve got to go represent the country. And then you lose, you hit a little bump in the road. And everybody’s like,’ Oh, everybody caught America. ‘ You’re an American too. Act like that. “
He continued, “Do your job. You know, I do media stuff. I understand doing your job. But, when you talk about a special group, you better be sure you’re right. people got it wrong. And trust me, I’ll post these guys. I’ll post anyone I found that said something. Nobody holds people accountable anymore, but I will. “
Perkins responded on Twitter congratulating the USA team but added: You’re right (Green) I’m going to keep talking about my Sh $ t and no one is going [sic] shut me up! Congratulations on winning the champion’s gold medal !!! Go on hell … “
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