Getty Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan looks on during a game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Diar DeRozan — the nine-year-old daughter of Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan — became a viral sensation earlier in the week when her shrieking from the stands seemingly contributed to the Toronto Raptors’ foul line woes during the Windy City crew’s lone play-in win.
However, some fans went to the absolute extreme with their negative reactions to her exploits.
As reported first by Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes, Diar was ultimately escorted out of Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena by Bulls security and led to the team bus, along with her father, when the NBA notified the club that “severe online threats” had been directed at the child.
“As long as she was there with her father, I wasn’t worried about anything happening. It was just a precautionary measure and I appreciate that,” DeRozan told Haynes ahead of Chicago’s season-ending loss to the Miami Heat on Friday. That’s not to say, though, that he condones such behavior.
“It’s crazy. It’s the world we live in. No matter how good something could be, you still got miserable people that just don’t have a life, honestly. It’s sad. All I care about is my daughter enjoying her moment,” DeRozan added, via NBC Sports Chicago’s KC Johnson.
Diar DeRozan Made Her Presence Known During the Bulls’ Play-In Win Over the Raptors
The degree to which she actually impacted the game may be up for debate, but the numbers were crystal clear on Wednesday — the Raptors had one of the worst nights you’ll ever see at the free-throw line.
Despite having sunk 78.4% of their foul shots during the regular season, Toronto made just 18 of their 36 attempts in a do-or-die situation versus Chicago. And on virtually all of those attempts, Diar could be heard shrieking at her All-Star dad’s opponents (doing so, more often than not, just as the shooter was releasing the ball).
“She went viral,” the elder DeRozan said postgame when asked about his daughter’s unique brand of defense. “I kept hearing something during the game… there was one free throw somebody missed and I looked back and I was like, ‘Damn, that’s my daughter screaming?'”
The Bulls probably could have used her during the Heat game, which saw Jimmy Butler and his cohorts go 28-for-32 from the charity stripe. And United Airlines actually offered to fly her to South Beach for free so she could attend the club’s second play-in bout.
In the end, though, she was boxed out by an age-old childhood adversary.
“She’s got to go back to school,” DeRozan declared.
Diar Makes Rich Eisen Show’s Top Five
On the morning after Diar won the internet, Rich Eisen raved about her performance on his syndicated radio/television show. He was even inspired by the younger DeRozan to name his “Top 5 Things in Sports Diar DeRozan Should Really Shriek At.”
That list shook out as follows:
- Blowing a 19-point lead while missing half of your free throws at home to end your season (which the Raptors did against the Bulls).
- The fact that Aaron Rodgers still isn’t officially a member of the New York Jets.
- Relief pitchers jogging out from the bullpen to join a bench-clearing brawl in baseball.
- Athletes referring to themselves in the third person.
- The football rule allowing the defense to take possession if the offense fumbles the ball and it rolls through the back of their goal.