D'Angelo Russell apologizes for video incident, vows to regain Lakers' trust
The 20-year-old acknowledged his mistakes in an interview and swears that he never meant to hurt anyone. Will that be enough to save his career in the face of a major violation of NBA culture?
By
Matt Moore
•
1 min read
Before Los Angeles Lakers rookie D'Angelo Russell met with the media Wednesday night, he spoke with the Vertical about the leaked video he took of Nick Young without his knowledge which revealed several romantic indiscretions outside of his teammate's relationship with Iggy Azalea. Russell apologized for recording and allowing the leak to occur, saying he feels "sick."
Russell described the videos as commonplace pranks that occur between himself and Young, among other teammates, but that he never intended to share the video with anyone.
From a basketball standpoint, Russell acknowledged that regaining trust will be a challenge for him, but the 20-year-old remains determined not to let this ruin his NBA career.
"I know this is going to be tough. I am a good person. I cherish the relationships I have and I would never intentionally hurt someone. I will work hard to earn back the trust of my teammates and those who were impacted by this.
"I'll do whatever it takes."
Source: D’Angelo Russell: ‘I am sorry I recorded that video’ - Yahoo Sports.
Russell says all the right things here, and within the context of the situation, given that it was a prank gone wrong in an escalating series of hijinks between the two, this looks like an honest mistake instead of a deliberate effort to deceive and hurt Young.
Still, lives have been impacted by this, other Lakers are reportedly freezing out Russell and team chemistry has never been worse for a team that once embodied greatness in this sport. This has cast an ugly pall over the end of Kobe Bryant's final weeks in the NBA, and further sets back the Lakers' attempts at regaining their former glory.
Russell may very well manage to move past this in his career, but it's going to take some time and a lot of good behavior.
