- Philadelphia 76ers’ JJ Redick used a racial slur during an interview
- He wished a happy Chinese New Year to ‘NBA c***k fans’ after a game
- The 33-year-old athlete said on Twitter he was ‘tongue-tied’
- Fans were outraged by the slur and confused why the athlete would say ‘c***k’
JJ Redick causes outrage among NBA fans after using a racial slur to wish a happy Chinese New Year.
A video, which was produced by Chinese media company Tencent, shows NBA athletes and coaches wishing fans a happy New Year.
But the 33-year-old basketball player caused a stir after calling people ‘NBA c***k fans’ during his interview.
Redick, who plays for the Philadelphia 76ers, took to Twitter after the video went viral and said he was obviously ‘tongue-tied’ and the word is not in his ‘vocabulary’.
JJ Redick, a 33-year-old basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers, called people ‘NBA c***k fans’ when wishing them a happy Chinese New Year
Redick took to Twitter on Sunday afternoon after the video went viral. He said he was ‘tongue-tied’ and didn’t have the slur in his ‘vocabulary’
In the video, Redick said: ‘I want to wish all the NBA c***k fans of China a Happy New Year.’
A different version of the video that was posted by Tencent did not feature Redick, which suggests his portion might have been cut out because of the slur.
But people on the Internet found the original clip and shared it for fans to see when the basketball player said the slur.
The video was posted on Reddit originally and then was shared across multiple platforms including Twitter.
Redick posted on Twitter Sunday afternoon after the clip went viral.
One person posted a video that looped Redick saying the racial slur while he reacted out of disbelief. It is unclear what Redick meant when he said he was ‘tongue-tied
He said: ‘Just saw a video that is being circulated of me wishing a happy New Year to NBA fans in China.
‘Clearly I was tongue tied…I’m disapointed that anyone would think I would use that word.
‘I love and respect our friends in China.’
One reaction video features someone continually replaying Redick’s statement while acting shocked by the slur.
It is unclear if Redick mistakenly used the word or was misinformed about what the slur can mean to certain ethnicities.
Fans were outraged by the video saying Redick was ‘racist’ for using the slur. The video was first posted on Reddit before it circulated to other social platforms. Pictured is Redick during a basketball game against the New York Knicks on February 12