Former Golden State Warriors player Gilbert Arenas clarified his comments about current Warriors star Stephen Curry’s wife, Ayesha, but stopped short of offering a full apology.
Speaking on his “Gil’s Arena” podcast, Arenas said his comments were intended to point out that Steph typically avoids controversy while identifying what he called a “blemish” on the Curry family.
“All I said is he doesn’t get in trouble for nothing,” Arenas said. “He says the right things. If you gotta judge this family, his only blemish is what his wife said. That’s all I said. If there is a blemish, it’s that.” The three-time All-Star later expressed regret if his comments offended Steph, but maintained that he had not intended them as a personal attack.
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“I’m sorry if he’s offended. I didn’t mean it like that. I was just saying that he’s such a perfect dude… but I am sorry.”
Nick Young, who is a “Gil’s Arena” contributor, provided a more direct apology. “This man Gil won’t say sorry at all. I’m sorry, Steph. You my dog. I love you. If I offended you, I apologize like a man. I’m sorry,” Young said. Young was Curry’s teammate for one season in Golden State, winning the 2018 NBA title with the Warriors.
Former NFL player Emmanuel Acho also apologized to the Currys for comments he made on a separate podcast.
“When a man humbly comes to you and requests an apology, then you wouldn’t be ignorant to respond with anything else than I’m sorry,” Acho said. “Steph, I’m sorry for not just offending you but potentially offending your wife. I’m sorry for how it may have made you feel.”
Acho added: “I’m sorry for how it may have made you feel seeing headlines, commentary, all these things about your wife,” Acho said, referring to the reaction to Ayesha’s starring role in the Roku romantic comedy “Second Chance Holiday.”
“I’m sorry for the reactions it may have caused internally, vicariously among you, in your central and nervous system.”
The string of mea culpas came to light shortly after Curry took to social media to address criticism of his wife of 15 years.
“Usually the noise doesn’t bother me, it doesn’t bother Ayesha, but this one in particular, when you’re trying to step on the accomplishments of my wife and, you know, obviously needing podcasts, tapings and topics and giving opinions on somebody else’s wife,” Curry said in an Instagram video posted on Wednesday.
STEPHEN CURRY ISSUES RARE PUBLIC RESPONSE TO CRITICS, DEFENDS WIFE AYESHA AMID ACTING-ROLE BACKLASH
One scene in the film calls for Ayesha to kiss co-star Matthew Daddario, a moment that sparked debate and criticism among sports figures on social media.
“Nick, Gil, Emmanuel, and anybody else who feels the need to wanna have to, you know, jump in and give an opinion of something you don’t really know about, something that kinda speaks to a bigger conversation on how you view women in this world and what they’re allowed and what they’re not allowed to do.”
After defending his wife, Curry closed with a pointed thank you to the critics for the unsolicited publicity.
On the basketball front, Curry is expected to miss at least two weeks due to an oblique abdominal tear. ESPN reported Thursday, citing sources, that the Warriors are anticipating the star guard will be sidelined for closer to a month.
Curry’s night ended early Wednesday when he left the Warriors’ game against the Houston Rockets with less than seven minutes remaining in the first quarter. He later underwent an MRI. Houston won 115-108.