Former longtime NBA coach George Karl says he was savagely attacked online by trolls telling him to die after he took a shot at newest Laker Carmelo Anthony, one of his former star players.
Karl, who coached Anthony for six seasons with the Denver Nuggets, turned heads earlier this week when he took a seemingly unprompted shot at the 10-time All-Star.
The 70-year-old former Nuggets coach, who also coached the Sonics, Bucks and Kings, was responding to a tweet from ESPN highlighting Anthony's ongoing quest for an NBA title, an accolade which has evaded him thus far in his otherwise decorated 18-year career.
"This is the one thing I'm missing," Anthony recently said in reference to an NBA championship. "This is the one thing that keeps me up at night, that motivates me because I don't have it."
On Monday, Karl replied with a snarky tweet quoting Anthony:
"And it kept our staff up at night a decade ago when we were stressing the importance of team play and defense!" he said. The post included a laughing emoji.
A day later, on Tuesday, apparently after being peppered with pushback from basketball observers and Anthony fans, Karl clarified that Melo is "one of the great scorers the game has ever seen."
But he also doubled down on his criticism, and seemed to suggest the infamous trade request that led to the blockbuster that brought Anthony to the Knicks was poorly timed given Karl's health issues.
"He wasn’t a team first player or good defender here in Denver," Karl reiterated. "And it upset us when he asked for a trade especially after I was sick."
Later on Tuesday night, Karl posted yet another followup, this time claiming users were wishing him dead. The coach has had multiple bouts of cancer, including those affecting the prostate, neck and throat.
"I think at least 100 people told me on here to die or rot in hell in the past 24 hours," he said. "Cmon folks. That's not kind or cool. Lighten up and celebrate life!!"
But when a user asked Karl what had prompted the harsh replies, he didn't budge off his criticism.
"What did you say?" the uninformed user asked.
"That Melo was a ball hog and shitty defender in Denver," he answered.