A father who held up signs during a few recent NBA games to troll his son over grades is defending himself amid criticism he may have gone too far with the stunt.
The father made waves by showing up at two NBA games in recent days during which he held up signs calling out his son over a lack of commitment to his studies.
First, the dad made an appearance at last Friday’s Cleveland Cavaliers-Charlotte Hornets showdown while holding a sign that read, “Thomas get your grades back up and next time you’ll be here. Love, Dad.”
And then on Sunday, he was back at it, this time holding up a sign that read, “Thomas can you hear me now? Student then athlete son. In that order. Love, dad” during the Houston Rockets-Oklahoma City Thunder tilt.
The father, Tommy, who asked that his last name not be used in an interview with “Inside Edition,” defended the arguably tough nature of his signs.
“My signs were dedicated to an audience of one! Just my son,” he said. “I wanted to give the attention to one person.”
He went on to explain the situation in more detail.
“Normally we will go to sporting events together,” the father said. “Due to his lack of effort in Mandarin and a couple of other courses, he couldn’t go. So, since he couldn’t come I wanted it to be a message from the game.”
For what it’s worth, Tommy says his son got the message “loud and clear.” With that in mind, let’s hope for the next planned NBA outing, Thomas has been dedicating himself better to his classwork so he can join his pops.
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