Kendall Marshall’s father attributes son’s lack of playing time to racism
The father of Philadelphia 76ers guard Kendall Marshall has attributed his son’s decreased role this season to racism, reports the Associated Press.
Marshall’s father, Dennis, took to Twitter on Saturday night during Philadelphia’s 130–99 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers to express his displeasure with his son’s lack of playing time.
“I always said there was racism in sports,” read Marshall’s tweet. His account has since been deactivated.
The elder Marshall continued his rant by saying, with an expletive, that white players on the team are afforded more opportunities than black players, despite playing poorly.
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Marshall’s father also went after 76ers guard Nik Stauskas in his series of tweets.
“How are you a ‘shooter’ and shooting 27 percent from three?” Marshall tweeted. “Can’t guard but play a lot. What do you think the reason is?”
The younger Marshall addressed his father’s comments when speaking to reporters prior to Philadelphia’s 109–99 win against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday.
“That’s not coming out of my mouth,” the guard said. “That’s not my social media. He’s a grown man. It was obviously the wrong time and place to say it, but he said it. He’s apologized for it since.”
Marshall’s father tweeted his apology Tuesday, and added that he sent a letter to the 76ers expressing his regret regarding the incident.
In nine games played this season, Marshall is averaging 4.3 points, 3.9 assists and 1.1 rebounds in 16.2 minutes per game. The 24-year-old was a first round selection by the Phoenix Suns out of North Carolina in 2012.
The 76ers are an NBA-worst 4–33 so far this season.
