OAKLAND, CA - JANUARY 10: Nate Robinson #2 of the Golden State Warriors claps his hands in front of LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heat at Oracle Arena on January 10, 2012 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Over the weekend, Nate Robinson lost his fight to Youtuber Jake Paul by way of knockout.
Nate Robinson knockout
Since the loss in his first professional fight, Robinson, a three-time NBA Slam Dunk Champion, has been the subject of both ridicule and praise via social media.
“You went out there, you got knocked out and became and instant meme NOW get back in the lab,” retired NBA player Gilbert Arenas wrote via Instagram.
“That a** whooping was no different then the first time you had to guard Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury, Baron Davis and me. We beat that a** and that didn’t stop you from putting on that jersey.” Arenas wrote. “Lick ur wounds, watch what u did wrong, watch what u did right,adjust,study becuz it’s never where u start it’s where u finish u said u were doing this for all the hoopers then u should know a real hooper bounce back game is litty.”
Nate Robinson’s former Boston Celtics teammate, Glen “Big Baby” Davis came to Robinson’s defense: “I’m sitting here and watching all this bulls**t,” Davis said via social media.
“Shit people are saying and doing. It’s f****d, it’s really f****d up. At the end of the day, my man took on a different challenge, because of the lack of opportunity. Nate should be playing basketball, I should be playing basketball but the league has its own mind in a way they want their players to be seen. Nate shouldn’t be doing this shit but at the end of the day, we gotta do other shit to have the courage to step out and do something you never done before. (…) Everybody is not LeBron James, everybody does not make the right decisions with their money. Sometimes we do fall victim of the world we come from. This fight is a cry for an opportunity to help to put us in a situation to be different.”
Robinson has addressed the ridicule via a social media. In one post he thanked his NBA bretheren in Kevin Garnett, Gilbert Arenas, Zach LaVine, Shaquille O’Neal, Carlos Boozer, Isaiah Thomas, Metta World-Peace, Quentin Richardson and Jamal Crawford.
He also gave boxing legend Floyd Mayweather a shoutout.
“I need to thank all my brothers for the support,” wrote Robinson.
“There are too many to name, and IG only lets me choose 10 pics..but I’ve seen every one of you. HUGE shout out to my brother KG for being there, and all of y’all that have reached out to me PERSONALLY…Mike Bibby, Carlos Arroyo, Bonzi Wells, Malik Rose, everyone in these pics, etc. It means the world and we’re gonna come back even better.”
In another post, Robinson posted a video from a scene from the film, Friday which starred Ice Cube and Chris Tucker. In that scene, late actor-comedian John Witherspoon, who memorably played Ice Cube’s father in the film tells Ice Cube: “You win some, you lose some. But you live, you live to fight another day.”
In the caption, Robinson wrote: “Put that gun down son, get knocked out like your father used to. Great souls are grown through storms of struggles and seasons of suffering.”