After Steve Kerr continuously “disrespected,” according to the internet and media, and now Jayson Tatum, the player himself, finally spoke out about it. This comes after Team USA beat France to place for gold.
For context, for those who are unaware, Jayson Tatum was a “DNP” twice during Team USA’s run to gold. Both DNPs came against Nikola Jokic and Serbia, and for the gold match, he only played 11 minutes.
His lack of a role sparked controversy and confusion because many saw the superstar being treated cruelly and Kerr having something against Tatum. However, Tatum didn’t want to make this controversy a situation.
He has let his feelings be known despite keeping it respectful and professional.
“It was a tough personal experience on the court, but I’m not going to make any decision off emotions,” Tatum said. “If you asked me right now if I was going to play in 2028 — it is four years from now and I [would have] to take time and think about that. So, I’m not going to make any decision based off how this experience was or how I felt individually.”
Tatum said that while this was humbling, he is still human and has to deal with this emotionally.
“A lot of people text me and reached out and said ‘Make sure this fuels you,’ which I appreciate. There’s a lot of people that care about me,” Tatum said. “I think the tough part is yes, you can use things to fuel you, but I’m still human.
“…Part of being in the moment, I’ve sacrificed and put a lot into this game and work really, really hard. So, in the moment it is tough. You’re not necessarily worried about fueling me for November or [whenever] the season is, but like I said, it’s something I’m going to take away from this and learn from this experience. It’s definitely challenging and humbling at the same time.”
This looks to be an ongoing story that will be unfolding in many different ways for not only Tatum but for Team USA as well.
