'It's not America': Fox Sports host roasted for comments about Toronto
A U.S. basketball commentator has found himself in the hot seat over comments he made about Toronto and its relationship with Black athletes amid rumours one of the best in the game could be headed north of the border.
“I don’t think KD [Kevin Durant] would want to go to Toronto. Great city. It’s not America,” Chris Broussard said on Fox Sports’ First Things First panel interview on Monday.
READ MORE: Kevin Durant asks for trade from Brooklyn Nets
“You feel it when you’re there, I’m telling you, especially as an African American. It’s a different situation than African Americans are used to being in.”
“Tracy McGrady left, Vince Carter left, Chris Bosh left, you mentioned Kahwi [Leonard],” Broussard added.
More than a few people on Twitter took issue with the comments and Broussard’s name was -- and still is -- trending on the platform in the hours that followed the segment.
Most notably among them is Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who played for the Raptors the year after they won their first championship.
“This a stretch… Canadians love you like you grew up there… he’s tripping,” Hollis-Jefferson wrote in a tweet.
And former Raptors, including Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, have been known to talk up their experience in the city and more often than not receive a hero’s welcome when they’re back in town.
In spite of the backlash, Broussard took to Twitter Monday night in an attempt to clear the air, saying he “never said Blacks are ‘treated worse in Toronto’ than in America.”
“That’s ridiculous. I said living there is different and “not the same as living in America for Blacks.” Very diverse city. But just 8% Black. I love visiting Toronto. Visiting,” Broussard added.
- Download our app to get local alerts to your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
Broussard’s hot take on the city, which has long been considered one of the most multicultural in the world, comes days after news broke that 12-time NBA All Star Kevin Durant was seeking a trade from the Brooklyn Nets.
While it’s still unclear where Durant will land after contracts are firmed up, there is speculation that he could end up in Toronto.
And that’s not totally out of the realm of possibility.
Durant has even gone on record to say that the Toronto was his favourite basketball team growing up and that he was a fan of one of the greatest raptors of all time: Vince Carter.
“I was a big Vince Carter fan and I just liked their jerseys to be honest. They were a new team when I was growing up so I wanted to be a part of that,” Durant said during the Dan Patrick Show in 2013.
“He [Carter] brought Toronto from being one of the newer teams in the league to almost going to the finals. He changed the culture there in Toronto.”
Like many other former Raptors greats, Carter has gone on to praise the city he once called home -- despite a once frosty relationship with the fans following a trade in 2004.
And although Durant himself has not all hinted at which jersey he'll wear in October, that’s not stopping Toronto fans from dreaming about the possibility he may land here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Canada Post cracks down on Nunavut loophole to get free Amazon Prime shipping
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
Millions of Canadians have been exposed to potentially toxic chemicals, and they're not going anywhere
For decades, North Bay, Ontario's water supply has harboured chemicals associated with liver and developmental issues, cancer and complications with pregnancy. It's far from the only city with that problem.
Michael Cohen: A challenging star witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial
He once said he would take a bullet for Donald Trump. Now Michael Cohen is prosecutors' biggest piece of legal ammunition in the former president's hush money trial.
German men with the strongest fingers compete in Bavaria's 'Fingerhakeln' wrestling championship
Despite the threat of dislocated fingers and strained muscles, over 150 Bavarian men came together Sunday to compete in Germany’s unique national championship of “Fingerhakeln,” or finger wrestling.
Flash floods in northern Afghanistan sweep away livelihoods, leaving hundreds dead and missing
The UN food agency estimated that unusually heavy seasonal rains in Afghanistan have left more than 300 people dead and thousands of houses destroyed, most of them in the northern province of Baghlan, which bore the brunt of the deluges Friday.
Adopted daughter in the Netherlands reunited with sister in Montreal and mother in Colombia, 40 years later
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
4th Indian national arrested, charged with murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Homicide investigators in B.C. say murder charges have been laid against a fourth Indian national in connection to the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a Surrey gurdwara last year.
RCMP boss expresses desire for new law to deal with threats against politicians
RCMP commissioner Mike Duheme says he wants the government to look at drafting a new law that would make it easier for police to pursue charges against people who threaten elected officials.