Kendrick Perkins apologizes to Anthony Edwards for wife and kids comment

After alleging Anthony Edwards needs a wife and kids to be considered the face of the NBA, Kendrick Perkins issued an apology.

The debate around Edwards’ candidacy for the face of the NBA has been a hot one on ESPN in recent months. And while most analysts believe Edwards still needs a championship, Perkins added the new prerequisite of having a wife and kids before he can earn the title. Wednesday afternoon, however, Perkins issued a private and public apology.

“Anthony Edwards is one my favorite players in the League if not my favorite player,” Perkins wrote on social media. “I apologized privately so I’m apologizing publicly to the young [king] for my comments on First Take yesterday. My bad young fella. I Was not taking a personal shot at you but I could see how it could have been taken that way.”

Those comments on First Take featured Perkins claiming the next face of the NBA needs to be role model, which he believes should require being married with kids.

“You gotta check the boxes when you’re the face of the league,” Perkins said Tuesday morning on First Take. “Yes, we know you gotta have your signature shoe, you’re gonna be in commercials, you’re gonna have the highlights, you gotta have the game. But you know what else you gotta have? You gotta be a role model.”

“You look at Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Shaq, LeBron, Steph, what did they all have in common?” Perkins asked. “While they was all playing in the league, they all were family men. They all were married with kids. And if you think that don’t play a role as far as the role model, this is facts. This is not something that I’m making up. Now, what happened to them after they retired, that’s their business. But while they were playing, they were family men. Married with kids.”

As if the premise of urging Edwards, who is 23 years old, to get married wasn’t strange enough, Perkins’ list of role models were not without their faults. Shaquille O’Neal has been public about regretting his infidelity. Kobe Bryant admitted to cheating on his wife after being accused of rape in 2003. Magic Johnson notably contracted HIV while being unfaithful to his future wife. And Michael Jordan’s rumored cheating allegedly played a role in his $168 million divorce settlement.

Adding to the bizarreness of this take was Perkins sitting next to Stephen A. Smith during the rant, who managed to become the face of ESPN while never having been married. To act like Edwards, who has a daughter, can’t be devoted to his family or his NBA career enough to be considered a role model because he isn’t married at 23 years old was one of the worst hot takes to land on ESPN. But at least Perkins appears to have quickly recognized the blunder.