Los Angeles Clippers forward Montrezl Harrell apologized to Luka Doncic on Sunday after calling the Dallas Mavericks guard a “bitch ass white boy” in a recent playoff game, which draw substantial blowback on social media.
“If gone get the story get it right all I ask, no one spoke with me to do anything I approach him and cleared the air from all the outside nonsense that was being said. Nothing but respect for Luka he understood the heat of the battle and he said it didn’t bother him only RESPECT,” Harrell wrote on Twitter.
Clippers head coach Doc Rivers told reporters on Sunday that he spoke with Harrell about his language.
“You just have to be careful,” Rivers said. “They both were talking. I don’t think Luka was saying anything racial, but he was swearing, so they both were doing it. It’s an emotional game.
“It’s a playground game out there in the playoffs,” Rivers continued. “I said to him, ‘Hey, I don’t think you meant anything racially by it.’ He said ‘white boy,’ but I don’t think there was anything racial intended. But, we are in a very heightened climate and you have to be careful. Trez was the first one to say that. He said, ‘I didn’t mean that racially.’”
Several athletes and sportswriters weighed in on social media to condemn Harrell’s comment before his apology.
Doncic hit the game-winning shot in overtime on Sunday night, leading the Mavericks with 43 points, 17 rebounds and 13 assists.
The series between the Clippers and Mavericks is tied at two games each.