Andrew Wiggins denies calling Dennis Schroder 'gay' in postgame interview
Minnesota Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins appeared to call Oklahoma City Thunder guard Dennis Schroder “gay” when questioned about Schroder’s on-court behavior in a postgame interview, but Wiggins later denied making the homophobic remark once his comments went viral on Twitter.
Schroder took issue with the Timberwolves when a number of players appeared to be laughing while Thunder center Nerlens Noel lay motionless on the floor from a scary fall. Noel took an elbow to the face from Wiggins while trying to block a dunk attempt. Schroder later got into a shoving match with Minnesota point guard and former Atlanta Hawks teammate Jeff Teague that resulted in an ejection.
Wiggins was asked about it afterward:
Wiggins on Schroder: "I don't know what's wrong with him. He was acting crazy for no reason. I look right through him. He's not someone I look at as a problem. Not at all."
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) January 9, 2019
Except, between Wiggins telling reporters, “I don’t know what’s wrong with him,” and, “He was acting crazy for no reason,” video of the exchange appeared to show him say of Schroder, “He was just gay.”
Andrew Wiggins said he was not worried about Dennis Schröder trying to step to the Timberwolves. "He was acting crazy for no reason." #thunder pic.twitter.com/gjkEcugVSi
— Michael Kinney (@EyeAmTruth) January 9, 2019
In the hours after the game, Wiggins took to Twitter “to clarify what I said tonight during my postgame media session,” saying he stumbled on the word “getting” before changing course to “acting crazy.”
Id like to clarify what I said tonight during my post game media session. I said: “I don’t know what’s wrong with him he was just getting… acting crazy for no reason”.
— andrew wiggins (@22wiggins) January 9, 2019
I have the utmost love and respect for the LGBTQIA community and I would never use any term to disrespect them in anyway.
— andrew wiggins (@22wiggins) January 9, 2019
It is difficult to tell what exactly Wiggins said. The NBA fined Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic $25,000 for making homophobic remarks in a postgame interview in November. Former All-Stars Rajon Rondo and Kobe Bryant both earned $100,000 fines for directing homophobic slurs at officials during games.
Questions about Wiggins’ comments overshadowed his best performance of the season. The much-maligned wing totaled 40 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in a 119-117 victory against the Thunder.
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Ben Rohrbach is a staff writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach
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