An NBA star’s girlfriend called him out recently, sparking a debate about what is an appropriate work-life balance when you are a professional athlete.
The star in question, Austin Rivers, made headlines not long ago when he shared a video of his girlfriend Audreyana Michelle going off on him for preferring to work out rather than spending time with her.
Complicating matters is Rivers’ polarizing reputation among people who have seen him play.
Because of the nature of the video and the subject matter, it evoked a lot of strong responses.
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Reactions to Rivers’ conundrum were mixed. Some felt like he simply isn’t good enough of a basketball player to ignore his girlfriend in this fashion.
“I’d understand if he was nice like that,” one person wrote. “But…[you] putting in extra work after a long road trip to average freaking 7 points with over 23 minutes every year ignoring 2020. Go spend time [with] your girl no cap he only in the league cause of his pops.”
“If I was shorty I’d be mad too. All this practicing you’re doing to put up 4-0-2,” a second person agreed.
Others were more sympathetic to Rivers’ plight.
“Not supporting the grind is crazy,” a different commentor replied.
“Hoopers HOOP,” someone else wrote. “That’s the reason she’s there in the first place lol. If he wasn’t doing that, she’d be gone.”
In the end, the general consensus seemed to be that Rivers needed to strike a better balance.
“Gotta set a balance,” a fan replied.
“Live your life on a schedule. Go based on when he get home too his day off, go workout/hoop for x amount of time and then once you back obviously get into some fresh clothes, shower and spend the rest of the day/night [with your] girl.”
It is worth remembering, a lot of much better players that Rivers have found a way to strike that balance. Luka Doncic was able to do it for Valentine’s Day with his girlfriend. Karl-Anthony Towns and Jordyn Woods had a fantastic Valentine’s Day celebration as well.
The photos speak for themselves. https://t.co/hXzYPmx0fx
— Game 7 (@game7__) February 16, 2023
Ditto for Kyle Kuzma and Winnie Harlow.
So if all those guys could do it, is Rivers really the exception to the rule?
Practicing your craft is important, especially when you are an NBA star, but so is showing those you love that you love them.
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