JR Smith revealed during a recent podcast interview that Sam Dekker is the only teammate he has ever disliked, which left Dekker puzzled. Smith initially did not go into much detail about why he has negative feelings toward Dekker, but he later elaborated on Twitter.
Smith and Dekker were teammates on the Cleveland Cavaliers for a brief period in 2018. Smith said on the “All Things Covered” podcast that he never liked Dekker after Dekker was “talking some Trump s—” on the team bus one day. Dekker responded in a since-deleted tweet saying he doesn’t get into politics nor consider himself a Trump supporter.
Dekker’s wife Olivia also responded to the story, tweeting that people should “consider the source” and saying Smith’s portrayal of her husband is inaccurate. Smith replied to Olivia by claiming Sam used the N-word. Here’s the exchange:
JR… he doesn’t say that word. I’ve never heard him say that word. He’s not a racist or a trump supporter. Simple as that. Not sure what your motive is here
— Olivia Harlan Dekker (@OliviaDekker) October 27, 2020
If Dekker actually did use a racial slur in front of his teammates, Smith should have said that from the start. There’s a big difference between talking politics and throwing the N-word around, though there’s no proof that Dekker did either.
Dekker’s sociopolitical views once led to a crazy viral story in 2018, so it’s possible that also bothered Smith.
