Australian basketball great Andrew Bogut says “the damage has been done” to Josh Giddey‘s reputation regardless of the result of the NBA‘s investigation into an alleged relationship with an underage girl.
The allegations surfaced on social media last week when images of the Oklahoma City Thunder player went viral. Wide World of Sports does not suggest the allegations against Giddey are true, but simply that they are being investigated.
Giddey, 21, has remained in the Thunder line-up while the NBA looks into the matter, and Bogut called the entire situation a “valuable lesson” for his compatriot.
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“I just want to put it out there, if Josh was 19, 20 or 21 and knowingly seeking out a 15-year-old girl, (that’s) absolutely despicable behaviour. I’m strongly against it,” Bogut said on his podcast, Rogue Bogues.
“It’s just an absolute shitshow as it is on social media. The damage has been done to his PR regardless of what the result is.
“We’ve had trial by media over the last 30 years and now trial by social media is probably a hundred times worse.
“It’s just a messy situation. Josh hopefully learns a life lesson from this regardless of where it goes.”
Bogut urged Giddey to “tighten his circle” in the aftermath of the allegations.
“Whenever you’re toeing that line, you’re flirting with danger, and that’s where I think Josh has messed up,” he said.
“If you’re messing around that 17-19 (range) and maybe don’t know (the real age), just no. That’s me.
“He’s got so much to lose. Regardless of what comes out in the next week or two … all the memes and all this shit now, that’s going to be there forever. It’s hard to take it back on social media.
“It’s just a shitty situation for everyone involved, even the girl, she’s getting slut-shamed and all that kind of stuff.
“It’s a valuable lesson of social media and not posting stuff on social media. I’ve got a thing with Snapchat, if you’re above 18, you should not be on Snapchat. An app that allows you to upload videos and messages that disappear is only really an app for a few things.
“It’s a valuable lesson for Josh. He’s got to tighten his circle and calm down on those social activities that he does outside of basketball and focus on that because he’s only in this thing for 10 or 15 years.
“From what I understand and knew, he’s never been a guy that’s gotten in trouble or knowingly wanted to go out and be silly. This is a valuable lesson for him.”
While he’s still allowed on the court, the impact of the scandal has already seemingly cost Giddey, with Weet-Bix removing him from its marketing material.
Giddey has been one of the faces of Weet-Bix since 2021, but can no longer be found on the cereal’s social media accounts, and the cereal company said it was keeping an eye on the fallout of the NBA’s probe.
”We are obviously aware of news surrounding Josh Giddey and are waiting for facts to be confirmed,” a spokesperson told News Corp.
“We are in contact with Josh’s management team and waiting on further detail at this point.”