Lonnie Walker IV, the recently selected 1st round pick of the San Antonio Spurs, took to Twitter on Independence Day, to say that he “will never celebrate 4th of July.”
The tweet read, “Will never celebrate 4th of July. Know your history!! and stay woke.”
Reaction to Walker’s tweet came in quickly. FS1’s Jason Whitlock blamed social media for Walker’s ignorance:
An American millionaire at 19. He's one of our best/brightest and this is what social media has done to his worldview. We r filling our young people w/too much animosity and resentment. I don't blame Lonnie. I've been 19 and rebellious. Glad I wasn't influenced by social media. https://t.co/aX2dt9OWu4
— Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) July 5, 2018
Conservative Review host Steve Deace challenged the rookie to have the courage of his convictions:
You were just drafted in the first round of the NBA draft and given guaranteed millions by the country you won’t celebrate. Please, then, convince us of the sincerity of your wokeness and forego all those American riches. https://t.co/wm5wss1rgm
— Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) July 5, 2018
The chances of Walker parting with his “American riches,” are probably low. However, the chances of his “woke” views being welcomed by the Spurs, are better. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has been one of the more outspoken liberal and anti-Trump voices in the NBA.
Though Popovich, like Spurs legend David Robinson, has a military background which might cause the future Hall of Fame coach to be more critical of his rookie’s comments.
For instance, David Robinson’s Independence Day tweet looked quite different than Walker’s:
Happy 4th of July! A good day to appreciate how fortunate we are to live in this great and free country. God Bless the USA #🇺🇸
— David Robinson (@DavidtheAdmiral) July 4, 2018
Fans also weighed-in on the rookie’s 4th of July comments:
Sounds like you & Pop will have good anti-Trump discussions.
— Tony Thompson (@Tthompissoreal) July 5, 2018
https://twitter.com/sgonz602/status/1014823569430335489?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1014823569430335489&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ksat.com%2Fsports%2Fnba%2Fspurs%2Fspurs-rookie-lonnie-walker-posts-controversial-tweet
Then move to another country
— Shelby⭐Starr (@aStarr_W_2Rs) July 5, 2018
Walker was the 18th overall pick in the NBA draft. He is currently playing on the Spurs Summer League squad. The former Miami Hurricane deleted his 4th of July tweet on Thursday morning.
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn
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