NBA superstar rips ladder away from worker in tantrum
An NBA player has been filmed in a tantrum after he couldn't take some practice shots following his side's defeat.
An NBA superstar has caused controversy after he appeared to rip a ladder away from a worker following a game.
On Friday (18 November) evening, the Milwaukee Bucks had just lost a close 110-102 encounter with the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA.
After the match, an angry Giannis Antetokounmpo wanted to practice some free-throw shots, but one of the baskets was obscured.
In clips posted to social media, a man with a ladder is in front of the basket, appearing to repair something that is out of reach - but what happens next is quite surprising. Watch it below:
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Originally, Antetokounmpo walked over to the man and his co-worker - who was just behind him - presumably asking him to move the ladder so that he could practice.
But the workers seemed unfazed by the former two-time MVP as they continued their work.
The player was clearly intent on taking practice shots, though, as the footage then shows him walking back over to the ladder, ripping it out of the man's hands and pushing it to one side.
The ladder ends up on the floor, making a bit of noise as it hits the court.
Antetokounmpo then heads back to the free throw circle to practice some shots as if nothing ever happened.
Meanwhile, the workers look on in disbelief, with one holding his hands up in the air.
In the video circulating on Twitter, you can hear one fan appear to say 'don’t be an a******' at the NBA star.
Antetokounmpo spoke to reporters more than an hour after the game had finished, and of course they asked him about the ladder incident.
He said: "I’ve never tried to disrespect anyone in any way, shape or form.
"I feel like today is just an unfortunate event that took place.
"At the end of the day, people are going to make things look the way they want it to look.
"Did I mean to push the ladder all the way down? I totally did not. I just tried to, I think I pushed it and it got caught and fell. But people are going to make it look the way they want it to look."
He concluded: “I don't know if I should apologise because I don't feel like I did anything wrong, except the ladder just fell. I feel like it's my right for me to work on my skills after a horrible night at the free throw line. I think anybody in my position that had a night like me would go out and work on his free throws."
Callum Jones