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Digital regret is a common theme these days. It’s so easy to use technology to record our lives that many forget where the line between “should” and “no” should be.
Such is the case for LA Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell. As part of a series of locker room pranks team members have been playing on each other, Russell recorded teammate Nick Young talking about his relationship with entertainer Iggy Azalea. Then he talked about his relationship with women other than Azalea. Russell recorded the video on his phone and never meant for it to go public. Of course, it did. Someone sent it to a celebrity news website, which published it online for the whole world to see.
Russell said he felt sick and was sorry about the entire incident and has no idea who passed the video on to the website. He added that he didn’t know why anyone would do it, and what would they hope to gain anyway? He’s contrite, which is good, but you can’t uncrack an egg, so the fallout has already begun. Russell said he apologized to Young, but of course, the situation has impacted their relationship, on and off the court.
Perhaps more than just about any other pro sport, team chemistry is vital to success in the NBA. Anything that upsets that continuity really creates trouble for a team, a coach and any momentum that team may otherwise have.
This spells trouble for Russell’s brand and his NBA future. A standout at Ohio State, Russell was drafted by the Lakers. His court time this season has been a story of ups and downs, touches of brilliance sparked with pedestrian play. Adding team friction to the mix may be all it takes for the Lakers to look elsewhere as they work to rebuild the franchise in the wake of Kobe Bryant’s anticipated departure.
Russell is saying all the right things, but he may want to bring in some professional messaging help if he wants to improve his chances of not only staying with the Lakers — which he calls the best job in the world — but also keeping his gig as an NBA rising star.
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Ronn Torossian is CEO of 5WPR, a leading NY PR firm. Follow 5WPR on Instagram.
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