Golden State Warriors superstar Kevin Durant committed a major blunder in an interview with The Atlantic, saying that India “is 20 years behind in terms of knowledge and experience” after he recently traveled to the country and conducted a basketball clinic that landed in the Guinness Book of World Records. During the interview, Kevin Durant also said that he noticed cows in the street and monkeys running around everywhere. There were also hundreds of people living on the side of the road and a million cars on the streets with no traffic violations.
Kevin Durant added that there are a bunch of underprivileged people, and they want to learn how to play basketball. In the interview, he also talked about the famed Taj Mahal -- one of the seven wonders of the world -- which he also visited during his trip to India. According to Durant, he expected that the Taj Mahal would be better protected, but he was disappointed with what he saw. While traveling to the famed place, Durant said he was reminded of some neighborhoods that he went to as a kid, with unfinished houses, dirty streets, and many stray animals along the way.
Durant apologized for his remarks
In a Twitter post, Durant apologized for his comments about India, saying that they were taken out of context.
Durant said he was grateful for the chance to visit India and spend time with basketball fans in the country. “I'm really pissed about how my comments came off, that's my fault, should've worded that better,” said Durant. The superstar explained that he only spoke about his imagination of the country, and not the reality he experienced once he was there.
In his apology, Durant said he will return to India and conduct more basketball camps there.
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) August 11, 2017
Durant set world record in India
Durant's visit to India happened on July 27 after he clinched his first NBA title and helped the Warriors win their second championships in three seasons.
It was an eventful visit as Durant made it into the Guinness Book of World Records for spearheading the world's largest basketball lesson with 3,459 Indian children. The basketball clinic was held in different parts of India via satellite such as Noida, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata. He also donated two basketball courts to Ramjas School and coached at NBA Academy India. During his visit, he was also asked about Kyrie Irving's trade demand, saying that he doesn't really care.
