HOUSTON — NBA spokesman Tim Frank confirmed Thursday that the league is “looking into” Jay-Z‘s impromptu visit Sunday to the Kentucky locker room at The Prudential Center.
After Kentucky beat North Carolina to win the East Regional, Jay-Z appeared in the Wildcats locker room and met with potential lottery picks Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones, as well as Darius Miller and Josh Harrellson.
The situation is not an NCAA violation, but the NBA has concerns.
“We are looking into it,” Frank said by text.
CBSSports.com first reported the story.
Jay-Z is a part owner of the Nets, who play at The Rock.
“I said, ‘Oh that’s Jay-Z!” Jones told one Kentucky basketball blog. “We all gave him a handshake and he came in the locker room, and we just kept screaming ‘Jay-Z in the locker room!’ He congratulated us, just said he was proud of us.”
Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge was fined $30,000 in 2007 for a similar incident where he sat with Kevin Durant’s mother in the stands during the Big 12 Tournament prior to Durant’s declaration that he would leave Texas for the NBA.
Kentucky meets UConn here at Reliant Stadium in one national semifinal Saturday, with upstarts Butler and VCU meeting in the other.
(Photo courtesy identityinkblogspot.com)
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