Ramona Shelburne Pays Price For Calling Pelicans Fans Racist
Ramona Shelburne pays the price for calling New Orleans Pelicans fans racist recently.
Shelburne, a notable ESPN reporter, made waves this week when she dissected the controversy surrounding Anthony Davis’ move to the Los Angeles Lakers.
While appearing on a radio show, Shelburne suggested that the reason Pelicans fans were so angry about Davis was not because they were simply losing their biggest NBA star, but because they did not like a black man telling them what he was going to do.
“Part of the reason why New Orleans didn’t want to trade him for so long is because they couldn’t get fair value for him,” Shelburne said on ESPN LA’s Mason & Ireland show.
“But I think the idea that a black agent was telling, not asking, telling the team, ‘You should trade him,’ and he wasn’t gonna, that did not go over well in New Orleans. Especially with, I don’t want to say, ‘That fan base,’ but you’re down in the South, man.
“This was very charged. And I think that when things get ugly emotionally like that, it’s not just about what’s going on the court. It’s not just about the moves being made.”
Here’s the full quote in question from Ramona about Rich Paul, Anthony Davis and New Orleans: pic.twitter.com/sRJCt7kBlK
— Mason Ginsberg (@MasonGinsberg) November 27, 2019
It is unclear what Shelburne was basing this idea off given the fact that New Orleans as a city and the Pelicans fanbase in particular have no shortage of representation as it pertains to the black community.
In response to the controversy, Shelburne was forced to issue a public statement addressing the matter.
“Since my appearance on LA radio Tuesday, I’ve spoken to many people and now realize that I inappropriately oversimplified a very complicated and emotional situation. I sincerely apologize for that mistake and to the city of New Orleans,” she said.
It remains to be seen if there will be any further fallout from Shelburne’s comments.
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A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
