Former NBA basketball player Ty Lawson has responded to the Instagram posts that saw him banned for life by the Chinese Basketball Association and the vile racist responses he received in the comments section.
Speaking in an Instagram video on Sunday, Lawson dealt with the issue, despite being told not to, and said he “meant no disrespect”.
“All right, well, I was told not to address this, but I don’t know, I got to stick up for myself,” he said on his Instagram story. ”I am probably the least racist guy you have ever met in life. I have fun with everybody … Cake means that she has a nice body, that’s it!”
Lawson’s initial Instagram posts included a statement about Chinese women’s bodies and a photograph of him appearing to get a lap dance.
His comments section was inundated with vile racist abuse and comments demanding he leave the country. These were then met with similarly troubling comments from Lawson’s supporters
“Everybody talking about, ‘Oh Ty you’re a racist. Oh my God get him out of China. He’s a N*****!‘ I am like bruh, you’re taking it too far, y’all wild. But I am going to say at the same time: I meant no disrespect, all the racists and disrespect that is coming towards me is wild.”
Lawson also pointed out that he was not in a strip club, as had initially been reported.
“Everyone that knows me in China knows that I am not that person. At all,” the 32-year-old said. ”I was literally saying that she had a nice body and I danced at a club. I wasn’t at a strip club, I wasn’t having sex with the women in the club and disrespecting her. I didn’t to that.”
Lawson’s club, the Fujian Sturgeons were quick to act after the posts came to light, announcing that they would not be renewing his contract for the next CBA season.
“His inappropriate words are inconsistent with the social responsibilities and values abided by our club and have brought serious adverse social impacts to the club and the league,” a club statement read, as reported by Xinhua. “We will not sign him for the new season.”
While his contract was ended with the end of the season, CBA regulations allow for the previous team to renew it. “We haven‘t signed him yet,” the statement noted.
Emiliano Carchando of basketball website Sportando reported that Lawson was banned for life from the CBA, while Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, another basketball website, wrote on Twitter that Lawson had also been dropped by his agent.
“Agent Chris Patrick and The Sports Law Group have terminated their representation of Ty Lawson, @hoopshype has learned,” he wrote. “Lawson was banned from the Chinese Basketball Association after multiple Instagram posts shown below.”
Lawson played for five NBA teams – the Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards – after his college career with the North Carolina Tar Heels, first moved to the CBA with the Shandong Golden Stars in 2017.
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