Montrezl Harrell: “You speak a lot for someone who paid to be there”

The week will have been rich for Montrezl Harrelland alas, he is more talked about outside the field.

There was in particular the “Giannis Gate”, when the inside of the Sixers refused to see Giannis Antetokounmpo repeat his lines on his field after the meeting between Philly and Milwaukee. Then, when he returned to Charlotte on Wednesday, Harrell stood out in a “heated” discussion with a fan of the Hornets, a franchise he wore the jersey for last season.

A question of principle

This is not the first time that the tone has risen between a “fan” and the interior who had already threatened a fan to correct him if he did not watch his language. These episodes of tension have tended to multiply in the NBA in recent years, and the player took the floor to give his point of view.

Even if he assures that these provocations do not affect him, he makes it a point of honor to always respond, even if it means wasting time and energy.

” It’s like that. Fans have a lot to say, whether in the room or on social media, wherever that may be. People don’t realize that they’re basically just fans: ‘Stay on it, stay in your element. Don’t try to cross a line that shouldn’t be crossed, because if you do that now, you’ll get retaliated from me'”, did he warn.

” I’m always used as the scapegoat, as the one who embodies the villain »

Montrezl Harrell sticks to his principles rather than worrying about the impact that these exchanges could have on his reputation in the long run. “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”, or rather “You speak badly to me, I speak badly to you”, such will remain his philosophy.

“It’s not my first time with fans… I’m always used as the scapegoat, as the person who embodies the villain. I do not care. Once they’re really in that frame of mind, and that goes for everyone, I don’t care what anyone thinks of me.”he added. “My family knows me, my kids know me, and that’s all that matters to me. It would kill me if I had to worry about all these things. It doesn’t bother me.”

By dint of tense exchanges, he has learned to sharpen his arguments, and he therefore delivers his parade to close the valve of his detractors. “I often tell people, ‘You talk a lot for someone who paid to be there. I am paid to be here’. Imagine what it can give”.

Implacable…