https://vine.co/v/OlI31MEqtXP
INDIANAPOLIS — Andrew Harrison apologized to Frank Kaminsky for his apparent racial slur on the podium after Wisconsin’s victory in the national semifinals and an NBA scout told SNY.tv the comment likely won’t impact Harrison’s draft stock.
“First i want to apologize for my poor choice of words used in jest towards a player I respect and know,” Harrison Tweeted.
“When I realized how this could be perceived I immediately called big frank to apologize and let him know I didn’t mean any disrespect.
“We had a good conversation and I wished him good luck in the championship game Monday.”
ESPN’s Shannon Spake reported Sunday that Harrison had Kaminsky’s phone number and called him to apologize.
“He reached out,” Kaminsky said later Sunday on the podium. “We talked about it. Over it. Nothing needs to be made out of it.”
Asked if it was a “teachable moment” for Harrison, Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said, “The teaching moment is the individual himself learned from it by reaching out to Frank, so we’ll leave it at that.”
Meantime, an NBA scout told SNY.tv the comment likely wouldn’t impact the sophomore guard’s NBA Draft stock.
“No, [it was] out of frustration probably,” the scout said.
Harrison is projected as the No. 53 pick in the NBA Draft by DraftExpress.com, while his brother Aaron is not projected by the site to be drafted.
With his right hand covering his mouth, Harrison appeared to mumble, “F–k that N—a” into a live microphone as a question was directed to his teammate Karl-Anthony Towns.
A projected Top 10 pick in the Draft who went for 20 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks in Wisconsin’s 71-64 win over Kentucky, Kaminsky is white.
The question was: “Karl, could you talk about Kaminsky and what if anything is unique about defending him?”
Before Towns answered, Harrison interjected with his hand over his mouth.
Towns then said, “A very crafty player, great skills. He uses his height to his advantage.”
As of about 3 a.m. Sunday, the above Vine depicting the comment had gotten more than 2.7 million loops.
