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Fact Check: Did Jayson Tatum Really Pass 300 Gatorade Cups To Teammates And was Mocked For It?
Jayson Tatum will be hoping to make a mark in the Olympics game against South Sudan after he was mocked on social media for being on the bench for the game against Serbia.
Although Team USA defeated Serbia 110-84 to start their quest for the gold medal in basketball at the Paris Olympics, Jayson Tatum had a rough day. The star player for the Boston Celtics received trolling for sitting out the entire contest. The joke started when a spoof account on X named NBACentel made fun of the 26-year-old by making a reference to "passing the cup."
What did NBACentel post?
They made fun of Tatum by drawing comparisons between him and the Thanasis Antetokounmpo, who is a bench player for the Milwaukee Bucks. The caption humorously read, “BREAKING: Jayson Tatum passed 300 Gatorade cups to his teammates, breaking Thanasis Antetokounmpo’s record”.
What did Gatorade post?
After this remark sparked widespread discussions, Gatorade fueled this drama further. They pulled Tatum‘s leg in the comments, responding, “Man of the people”. The damage was done, even though the beverage company later removed this response. NBACentel promptly took a screenshot of the comment and referenced the original post.“Hey Jayson Tatum, you gonna take this from Gatorade?”.
Gatorade’s close relationship with Jayson Tatum
Everyone was interested in Gatorade's response because of their close relationship with Tatum. Tatum was named the 2016 Gatorade National Player of the Year by the company. In addition, the Gx Collab Bottles advertising campaign featured the 5x All-Star as its face in 2023.
He continued the collaboration this year, costarring with Caitlin Clark in a Michael Jordan-narrated commercial. Tatum may need some explanations from the brand in the wake of this unexpected reaction. For coach Steve Kerr, though, the circumstances were considerably easier.
Why was Tatum benched against Serbia?
Kerr said, “Jayson handled it well. I talked to him today before the game that it may play out this way just with Kevin [Durant] coming back and the lineups that I wanted to get to. But that’ll change. Jayson is gonna play… He is a total pro. He is first-team All-NBA for three years in a row. I felt like an idiot not playing him. But in a 40-minute game, you can’t play more than 10”.
Kerr clarified that he was forced to bench Tatum due to the star power on the team. But he hinted that the star player for the Celtics might soon be back in the starting lineup for forthcoming games. The Team USA head coach also described his constraints in making decisions. However, since then Kerr has said that Tatum will start the game against South Sudan as Team USA will look two make it two wins in two games.
ALSO READ: Will Jayson Tatum Play Against South Sudan in Paris Olympics 2024? All You Need to Know
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