AAU life is crazy for all parents in all sports. The exploitation of youth sports is a billion dollar business and hopes of going pro are considered real goals for many. Especially the sons of former NBA players, who over the years haven’t hesitated to make complete asses of themselves at their kids’ games.
From LeBron James’ antics at Bronny’s games, to Matt Barnes losing his analyst gig over getting physical and threatening folks at his son’s game, the spectacles now include Kendrick Perkins’ latest tantrum, captured by TMZ at his son’s AAU game.
Kendrick Perkins In Wild Argument At Son’s AAU Game
Video of the incident shows Perkins, a staple on ESPN’s “First Take” with opinions on everyone in the game about how they should be acting, reacting and conducting themselves, yelling at someone and needing to be restrained at his son’s AAU Tournament. Perkins was acting aggressively and using profanity.
You can hear some shocked people in the background saying, “Oh my God. Big Perk, what are we doing?”
Regardless of what the issue was, Perkins, a respected NBA analyst who should understand the culture of the game as well as anybody, as well as the need to lead by example, was right in the middle of chaos and controversy as fans and family looked on, stunned by the behavior of one of sports’ leading personalities.
“Not shocking at all,” one fan said. “This is who Perk is. Cut from the cloth of the rotten, self-destructive culture we see across this country. Zero emotional control or restraint.”
“Why are they always fighting at school events now?” another user commented.
“Should begin expelling all of the kids of these r*tards. Disrespectful to the whole school and disrupts everyone’s education/extracurriculars,” another angry parent commented.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I give you ESPN’s lead basketball analyst… beyond time for ESPN to make a change,” one user said, suggesting the network part ways with Perkins.
“Fake tough guy. If he really wanted to do sum no way a guy that’s probably 180-210 is holding him back lmaooo,” quipped one netizen.
“Damn big perk. Trying to fight some kids ain’t right. Way to set an example,” added another user.
Perk wasn’t totally up the creek without a life preserver, as some fans suggested that they will wait until the details come out to condemn a video with no real perspective.
“it’s crazy how no one knows what happens, but they are already giving their 2 cents??,” the fan complained.
While Kendrick Perkins’ anger was reflective of a father who paid a lot of money to watch his son play an AAU game, former NBA player Nick Young, aka Swaggy P, took to social media to contemplate his entire existence and the benefits of AAU ball for his three sons.
Swaggy P Hates AAU Culture, Speaks Out Against It
Young went on a rant about the exploitative culture; how expensive it is to play and travel and the fact that most parents don’t realize until it’s too late that the entire system is a hustle now. Even NBA guys are forced to succumb to the system of junior high school rankings, specialized showcases and large tabs. Re-classification, which most parents never think about, becomes the new game.
“This AAU sh*t. This sh*t got to stop,” the former Lakers player said. “N*gga said my son is in the seventh grade. He ranked No. 1. I know the new trick now. I’m about to do this sh*t. You hold ya’ son back two years and he will be the biggest n*gga out there dunking in the seventh grade…he’s already 18th in the 10th grade. Then re-class. He’s balling out, yeah he’s gonna be No. 1 in the (NBA) Draft.”
Former NBA Player Nick Young Says AAU Basketball Is A Rip Off
Young continued: “That’s the new game. You get em’ ranked early, hold him back two grades and he’s in the seventh grade, dunking on n*ggas. This AAU sh*t is sick, boy. There’s so much money out here,” Young added, while reliving a conversation about fees that he had with his son’s coach.
“We’re gonna be planning on going on a trip you know it’s $500 each kid,” the coach told Young.
“I thought once you paid everything included. Hell naw,” Young lamented on the video. “You gotta pay everywhere. Ten games, ten different places, that’s $200 a pop. That’s a $1000 dollar on the weekends. If you got multiple kids … “
Young, who made a reported $38.2M in his NBA career, still says the costs are building up and he might have to make some tough decisions because it’s starting to feel like the youth ballers have NBA contracts.
“Now just one kid plays per season. Not three. Game over here. Parking over here. Food over here. These n*ggas got NBA contracts. That’s what it adds up to at the end of the year. It’s an NBA deal,” Young concluded in his video rant.
Will Kendrick Perkins’ ESPN Gig Be Affected By AAU Outburst?
Kendrick Perkins’ AAU outburst which is going viral faster than you can blink and Young’s sentiments towards the financial culture, reclassicification tactics and absurd player running that fuel AAU hoops are all telling signs for the future of youth sports in thai country.
While everyone complains that European players in basketball and Dominican players in baseball are developing better than kids in the U.S., look no further than the culture of the parents and administrators who oversee these events as to why sports culture is failing kids.
