New York Knicks big man Julius Randle faced some criticism for the PDA him and his wife showed after a playoff game this year, and Mrs. Randle took a moment over the weekend to defend the couple.
Randle and his wife Kendra shared a courtside kiss after the Knicks defeated the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Wednesday to extend the series. Former NBA player Kenyon Martin thought that was the wrong move. During an appearance on Gilbert Arenas’ YouTube show “Gil’s Arenas” this week, Martin blasted Randle.
Kenyon Martin on Julius Randle
(via @HecBreezo) pic.twitter.com/X3dD6hHv9X— Alex B. (@KnicksCentral) May 12, 2023
“We just got done playing a hard-fought game in a playoff series, and the first thing you do is you go kiss your wife!” Martin said, via Bryan Fonseca of the New York Post. “That’s the first thing you do? Where’s your mind at?! I mean, it was the very first thing he did, dawg, when the game was over.
“I am sitting there watching the game with my wife. I said to her, ‘I love you to death, but ain’t no way in that instant … I mean I am going to be with my guys because we just got done winning and I am not even thinking about you.’”
Kendra Randle addressed Martin’s take in a tweet on Saturday. She said both she and Julius grew up in single-parent homes and that she’s happy to set a good example for the couple’s two children.
slow news day I guess. Both of us grew up in single parent homes. We never saw our dads respect our mothers. I’m so grateful my kids get to grow up watching their dad be the best father and husband https://t.co/hzBFd7fLoP
— Kendra Randle (@KendraRandle_) May 13, 2023
“Slow news day I guess. Both of us grew up in single parent homes. We never saw our dads respect our mothers. I’m so grateful my kids get to grow up watching their dad be the best father and husband,” Kendra Randle wrote.
The Knicks have since been eliminated from the postseason. The Heat defeated them in Game 6 on Friday night. Knicks fans may not have appreciated the comments Randle made after one loss in the series, but it is not often that a player’s wife has to defend herself for getting a postgame smooch.
Julius and Kendra met at the University of Kentucky and got married in 2016. They share two sons together, 6-year-old Kyden and 1-year-old Jayce.
