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Another NBA All Star Weekend is in the books after the festivities wrapped up on Monday with Team Giannis defeating Team LeBron.<\/p>\n
The game was slammed by fans far and wide with Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone labelling it \u201cthe worst basketball game ever played\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n Watch an average of 9 LIVE NBA Regular Season games per week on ESPN on Kayo Sports on ESPN on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now ><\/a><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n But as angry as fans were watching the action unfold on both Sunday and Monday, it was nothing compared to the outrage over one move from the NBA.<\/p>\n With the event taking place in Utah this year, the league wanted to bring some hometown heroes into the mix with Jazz legends John Stockton and Karl Malone in attendance.<\/p>\n Stockton has raised eyebrows in recent months with his wild Covid-19 takes, but it was his former NBA running mate that was the focus of the backlash.<\/p>\n Malone was invited by the NBA to be a judge for the dunk contest on Sunday which was won by Philadelphia\u2019s Mac McClung<\/a>.<\/p>\n The league took things a step further during halftime of the All Star Game when they honoured LeBron James\u2019 recent record-breaking feat<\/a>.<\/p>\n Prior to James being brought out onto the stage, the league introduced the now second and third all-time scorers with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Malone joining James before posing for photos with the all-time great.<\/p>\n Criticism kicked off before the All Star Weekend got underway when Malone\u2019s involvement was first announced, the photo of him striking a pose alongside the two legends was the spark that lit the fuse.<\/p>\n So why is there so much anger towards the NBA for including a man who has a resume almost every basketball player could only ever dream of?<\/p>\n Malone is considered one of the greatest power forwards to ever grace the hardwood, finishing his career as a two-time MVP, 14-time All Star and scoring a mammoth 36,928 points.<\/p>\n The anger however has nothing to do with his basketball career, it instead stems from an incident off the court two years before he became a member of the Utah Jazz.<\/p>\n In 1983, a 20-year-old Malone impregnated a 13-year-old girl, Gloria Bell.<\/p>\n No charges were ever brought against Malone over the damning incident, with Bell telling The Salt Lake Tribune <\/a>in 1998 statutory rape charges weren\u2019t considered because Malone \u201ccould not provide support for the child from jail\u201d.<\/p>\n Malone however largely ignored his responsibilities as a father, meeting his son for the first time as a 17-year-old when he graduated from high school.<\/p>\n Salt Lake Tribune reporter Gordon Monson noting<\/a>: \u201cMalone initially denied paternity and later agreed to a settlement that reportedly did not require him to admit he was the child\u2019s father.\u201d<\/p>\n Demetress Bell grew up to become an offensive tackle in the NFL, playing for the Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys.<\/p>\n It\u2019s an incident the third-best scorer in NBA history has never publicly addressed and over the weekend it was evident the league wanted to push it aside and only focus on his on-court achievements.<\/p>\n Malone was pressed on his past mistakes during media availability but simply denied to confront the backlash, opting instead to deflect with no comment.<\/p>\n Fans weren\u2019t having it. Basketball lovers were quick to call out the NBA for honouring and shining a light on Malone despite the moment proving to be a dark cloud on festivities.<\/p>\n ESPN personality Bomani Jones didn\u2019t shy away from it during his HBO show Game Theory when answering a fan question.<\/p>\n \u201cYou could make this question what are your thoughts about Karl Malone and stop it right there,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n \u201cI hated him before I had a great reason, I only had good ones. Like being a dirty player and elbowing people all the time.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then we find out the whole thing, if you don\u2019t know this, that when he was in college he had a baby with a twelve-year-old.\u201d <\/p>\n The audience in attendance, clearly unaware of Malone\u2019s past indiscretion, gasped at hearing this.<\/p>\n Jones was far from alone in condemning both Malone and the NBA for including the former Utah Jazz superstar and his involvement throughout the weekend.<\/p>\n Fans instead opted to crop the image from the stage on Monday, showing off only LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar<\/a>.<\/p>\n Maybe it\u2019s time the NBA cropped Malone out as well.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n