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Fox Sports pundit makes bizarre comments about Toronto

olivier neven
Writer
·4 min read

Will American sports talk shows ever give Toronto the respect it deserves?

On Monday, Fox Sports' Chris Broussard made some alarming remarks about the city of Toronto and Canada when discussing the possibility of NBA superstar Kevin Durant being traded to the Raptors on First Things First.

"Great city, but it's not America. And 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," Broussard said.

Canadian basketball fans, as well as members of the NBA media sphere, took to Twitter to express their confusion and frustration with Broussard's comments.

Some chose to channel their bewilderment through humour, making jokes and sharing memes about Broussard's odd choice of words.

Amid the backlash, Broussard took to Twitter to explain what he meant with his rant.

His tweet did not do much to convince his detractors, however, with many pointing out that Phoenix, the odds-on favourite to acquire Durant, has a smaller Black demographic than Toronto.

Durant has the sports world eagerly awaiting news on his future after making a trade request to the Brooklyn Nets, dropping a bombshell as the NBA free agency window opened last week.

While the two-time champion reportedly prefers to be traded to either the Phoenix Suns or the Miami Heat, the Raptors have emerged as a serious contender to acquire Durant's services. Over the weekend, Toronto's odds of landing KD went from +3000 on Friday to the second-best odds at +250 on Sunday, per DraftKings.

Broussard's comments may be troubling, but it seems Durant already has a favourable impression of Toronto, praising the city, the team and its players on multiple occasions in the past.

Fans online have been engaged in debate on whether or not to trade for the 2014 MVP, and over which players should be included in a possible deal.

Toronto is no stranger to taking a swing at a big star on the trade market, popularly acquiring the disgruntled Kawhi Leonard from the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for DeMar Derozan in 2018. The move famously paved the way for the Raptors' first-ever championship in 2019, before Leonard left in free agency in the following offseason.

Kevin Durant shocked the NBA when he demanded a trade out of Brooklyn last week. (Getty Images)
Kevin Durant shocked the NBA when he demanded a trade out of Brooklyn last week. Could he land in Toronto? (Getty Images)

It's hard to count out Masai Ujiri and Co. in the Durant sweepstakes, especially if it means another run at the title. Still, the number of assets that would have to be given up in this deal will likely supersede anything we've ever seen in the NBA.

But while we wait for the historic trade to go down, we'll offer Durant and his crew a bit of advice.

Please don't listen to Chris Broussard.

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