Minnesota Timberwolves’ young star Anthony Edwards is having his best season and has his team in first place in the Western Conference.
Life couldn’t be going better on the court, but off the floor Edwards finds himself caught up in a situation not too unlike the one that New Orleans’ Pelicans player Zion Williamson found himself in this summer.
Problematic romantic relationships have been bad for professional athletes since the beginning of time, but these young men have to do better.
Ant-Man Caught Up
If you haven’t heard, Edwards was outed by Instagram model Paige Jordae, who had sexual relations with him. The model exposed alleged text messages between the two, where Jordae reveals she is pregnant, and Edwards tells her to get an abortion because he doesn’t want kids.
In the messages Edwards offers her money to “help her out.”
Edwards is facing flak for the manner in which he told Jordae to get an abortion and not taking her concerns over the situation seriously. None of this would likely have been made public except for the fact that Edwards has a public girlfriend, Jeanine Robel, who recently announced her pregnancy with Edwards’ child via a maternity photo shoot.
Edwards made a statement regarding the Jordae situation on X.
“I made comments in the heat of a moment that are not me, and that are not aligned with what I believe and who I want to be as a man,” Edwards wrote in a statement. “All women should be supported and empowered to make their own decisions about their bodies and what is best for them. I am handling my personal matters privately and will not be commenting on them any further at this time.”
Apart from the two women, Edwards is a 22-year-old ascending player in the NBA. That’s no easy feat in the best basketball league in the world. Not being professional off the floor can negatively impact a player on the floor.
We don’t know anything about the relationship between Edwards and Jordae. Was it just a one-time thing? Is she a steady that he also deals with, in addition to Robel?
We do know that Edwards is very public about his relationship with Robel and she can often be seen at Timberwolves home games with other players’ lady friends.
Athletes and multiple women is a tale as old as time. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Be straight up and direct, if that’s how you want to get down. Let these ladies know.
Keep The Main Thing The Main Thing
Finding true and meaningful relationships are one of the most difficult things for professional athletes. These men have been hustled their entire lives, ever since they showed promise of being great. That’s as young as 13. It makes trust a very difficult thing for players to have and there are women out there that look to take advantage of that for their own gains.
Pro athletes also use their celebrity status to take advantage of women. That disposition to dominate that some players have on the court also translates off the court in their conquest of women. Some players promise women “the world” with the goal of getting them into bed only to not deliver on said promises.
In this case we don’t know what the situation is with Edwards and these women. But none of it is helpful for the main thing, which is being the best possible basketball player he can be.
It’s going to be talked about on all the morning shows, clips will go viral, Edwards will be asked about it during media availability.
Not to mention, the situation could turn ugly.
It happened to Zion this summer when Moriah Mills exposed all of their bedroom activities on social media. Zion did his best to ignore it while publicly having a baby shower for his main girlfriend.
He hasn’t had the best start to the season, and the situation with Mills might not be the cause, but it certainly didn’t help.
The NBA is the most competitive hoops league in the world, you’ve got to be focused. Especially when you’re a young player trying to climb the ladder to superstardom.
For Edwards the money seemingly has been exchanged and Jordae began the medical abortion process.
Going forward he needs to take a lesson from this situation and the countless ones before him. This is serious business.
Navigating the NBA is a storm, it impacts all players. Don’t make it harder on yourself by making poor decisions.
