The 2023 NBA All-Star weekend took place in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the NBA made it a point to bring back Jazz legend Karl Malone to be one of the faces of the weekend and serve as a judge at Saturday's Slam Dunk contest.
But that decision has been widely criticized given Malone's sketchy off-court past.
It was first reported more than 25 years ago that when Malone was a 20-year old college student he had impregnated a 13-year-old girl in 1983, and had spent years denying his son — former NFL offensive lineman Demetress Bell — before finally developing a relationship with him.
Malone never faced charges for it, and it has largely been swept under the rug and ignored by the Jazz and the NBA. The fact that he was involved in one of the NBA's marquee events just further illustrated how much the league has overlooked it.
It was not, however, ignored by a large segment of the media covering the All-Star weekend, and the NBA has faced some intense criticism while Malone refused to talk about his past or his personal life.
Gordon Monson of the Salt Lake Tribune wrote a scathing column on the subject after Malone refused to speak to him, and any reporters while Monson was present, and for continuing to run from his past and take accountability.
Rolling Stone's Andre Gee wrote that the NBA shouldn't have had the "creepy" (their words) Malone involved and how he was a bad ambassador for the league.
Bomani Jones also had harsh words for the league.
The gasp from the audience was palpable when Bo mentioned Karl Malone impregnating a literal child. I’m surprised how many people don’t know this about him.
— priyadesai (@priyadesai) February 18, 2023
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Jones brings up a good point that if Malone isn't there, that would almost force the NBA to address why he is not there, which might not be something that it wants to do. It is far easier to just trot him out and let him sidestep questions and try to keep the focus on basketball.
Malone and John Stockton were, at their peak, one of the NBA's greatest on-court duos and both have become toxic figures following their playing days -- Malone for his sketchy past, and Stockton for his deep dive into conspiracy theories.
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