Latest news with #KarlAnthonyTowns
The Guardian
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘Why are you so damn gay?': the public policing of Karl-Anthony Towns' joy
The first time I danced was with my father. I plucked my bare feet onto his work boots, to my mother's distress, and let his rubber soles guide me into a groove. Hand in hand, we spun through the kitchen as Al Green's Love and Happiness christened my rhythm's baptism. The second time I danced was with myself – and it would be my last. I wrapped my arms around the fleshy part of my waist as Seal's Kiss from a Rose played from the Batman Forever CD in my stereo. Alone in my room, I was OK with the mirror seeing every part of me. I danced like Shirley Temple with Buddy Ebsen. Like my father guided me. The only thing that could have broken my rhythm did. My stepmother filled the doorway, barefoot except for a roach she had stepped on. 'Why are you so damn gay?' That question didn't land as curiosity. It landed as a sentence – as instruction. From that moment on, joy had to pass inspection before it could be expressed. A decade later, in a different home and a different neighborhood, I stood over a sink, washing someone else's blood off my hands – still shaking from having fought my way out of being jumped. I wasn't just cleaning up. I was trying to scrub away any lingering doubt about my masculinity. This essay is about what happens when boys who move freely are taught to fear their own rhythm – and what it means when grown men like Karl-Anthony Towns are mocked for keeping theirs. Confusion, softness and the urge to question societal norms are beaten out of all of us – but especially out of young boys of color in dangerous neighborhoods. It's as if the praxis of masculinity demands violence as the antidote to vulnerability. Even laughter had rules. You couldn't let it be too high-pitched. Too quick. You learned to clap shoulders, not hold hands. I didn't immediately reconcile my behavior with its double, but I spent my adolescence trying to prove my stepmom wrong. Since moving from Minnesota to New York, expectations for former No 1 draft pick Karl-Anthony Towns have increased on all fronts. In New York, the world's largest media market, scrutiny moves faster than any headline – amplified by the virality of social media. Towns is discovering what happens when softness is punished, when queerness is projected, and when public figures become unwilling avatars in culture wars over masculinity. The term 'zesty', a softened descendant of homophobic slang, became Towns' shadow. It trailed him through every three-point play, podcast outtake and postgame moment. He became the target for people eager to mock what they couldn't define. In Hilton Als's The Women, he recalls being called an 'auntie man' – a Barbadian phrase for a queer man, used with equal parts derision and familiarity. For Als, the term was both burden and lens – a way to understand how femininity in male bodies disturbs cultural norms. Towns, in his gestures and tones, touched that nerve – not by coming out, but by refusing to contort himself into the rigid, humorless frame of what a man in sports is supposed to be. Towns is far from alone. Figures like Tyler, the Creator, Russell Westbrook and Odell Beckham Jr have also been queer-coded and mocked online – not for coming out, but for expressing aesthetic freedom that unsettles traditional expectations of Black masculinity. Reading Als, I realized I wasn't just haunted by my stepmother's question. I was haunted by the idea that my joy, softness and rhythm might be interpreted the same way – that to some, my way of moving through the world would always be 'off'. Homophobia today isn't what it was in the 1990s, when the idea of a gay NBA player sparked outrage. American culture has shifted. Most people – not just millennials – know someone who is openly gay. Even baby boomers often count LGBTQ+ individuals among their friends or family. This broader familiarity has normalized queerness – but mostly white, heteronormative queerness. During his presidency, Donald Trump welcomed 'Gays for Trump', revealing how sexuality has become more complicated in modern politics, so long as it's white and votes red. But in sports, John Amaechi and Jason Collins remain punchlines. Dwight Howard was the most recent NBA player to be publicly dissected for his queer preferences. His situation involved layers of moral, legal and consensual complexity, but the cultural judgment echoed the same old anxieties. Towns is ostensibly straight. He's in a public relationship with Jordyn Woods. But his moments of effeminacy have gone viral on TikTok, trickling down through Twitter and into Facebook echo chambers. Many cite his Dominican heritage – not as a direct link to queerness, but to the flamboyance, rhythm and emotional expressiveness embedded in that culture. And if he were gay or bi or queer, what exactly would that change? KAT is still a dawg. It's ironic that this ridicule came during the best season of his career. He averaged 24.7 points and a career-high 13.5 rebounds while leading the Knicks to their first Eastern Conference finals appearance in 25 years. He delivered signature performances, including back-to-back 40-point games and a playoff triple-double. His offensive dominance marked a personal and franchise turning point. But it wasn't enough. The online ridicule intensified, crystallizing into what became known as 'Zesty Karl-Anthony Towns', or Zesty KAT – a meme that painted the Knicks star as flamboyant or queer-coded based on voice, gesture and posture. The term resurfaced in 2024 after viral TikTok compilations dissected clips from his postgame interviews and on-court expressions, reigniting during the 2025 playoffs. One of the most viral examples came from X user @Zazamyodor, who quote-tweeted a clip of Towns softly saying 'for sure' with the caption, 'That 'for sure' was nasty work.' The post earned over 46,000 likes and helped cement 'zesty' as shorthand for mocking his style, despite his career peak. I still haven't danced like I did that first time, or even the second. But I think about it often: what it meant to be light on my feet, unburdened, joyful without explanation. What Karl-Anthony Towns is enduring isn't just a meme cycle. It's the same sentence I heard in my doorway, repackaged for likes and algorithm reach: 'Why are you so damn gay?' Not a question, an accusation. In this world, to be joyful in your body, to be expressive without apology, is still treated like defiance. Towns may not need to dance like I did. But every time he celebrates a three-pointer with flair, every time he speaks in a tone too tender for a seven-footer, he keeps the rhythm going for those of us who had ours interrupted.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
New York Knicks snubbed latest Eastern Conference power rankings
After making a pair of big trades that helped get them to the Eastern Conference finals last offseason, the New York Knicks made more roster upgrades this summer. Armed with an abundance of depth and star power, they remain one of the league's top contenders. The timing of going all in has paid off for the Knicks, as they are in a good position to make a run at the NBA title in 2026. Teams like the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers will be without some of their top players due to injury, and other threats like the Milwaukee Bucks haven't improved much or at all. This opens the door for a team like New York to put together an even deeper run in the postseason. As the offseason rolls along, the people at updated their power rankings for the teams in the East. New York almost secured the top spot, slotting in at No. 2 behind the Cleveland Cavaliers. Looking at each team's offseason, a case could be made for the Knicks being put ahead of the Cavs. While they did undergo a coaching change, they are bringing back all of their core pieces and were able to add depth in the form of Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele. Meanwhile, Cleveland has a big void to fill with guard Ty Jerome leaving in free agency. Come next season, the Knicks very well could find themselves atop these power rankings for an extended period. Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns proved to be a strong duo and might only improve under a more offensive-minded coach in Mike Brown. Looking at the conference as a whole, it's hard not to view them as one of the favorites to represent the East in next year's NBA Finals.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Mike Brown adding familiar faces to revamped Knicks coaching staff
Freshly hired New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown is bringing in some familiar faces to fill out his bench. Brown, a two-time Coach of the Year with the Sacramento Kings and Cleveland Cavaliers, joined New York after the team unceremoniously dumped five-year head coach Tom Thibodeau earlier this offseason. Now, he'll strive to help what looks like a loaded roster attempt to return to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999. The Knicks posted a 51-31 record and made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals last year, where they fell in six games to the Indiana Pacers. READ MORE:Knicks executive reveals plan for possible Mikal Bridges extension The Boston Celtics and Pacers are both likely to be without their best players, All-NBA stars Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton, for most or all of 2025-26 as they recover from Achilles tendon tears incurred during the playoffs. That leaves a major void at the top of the Eastern Conference, with the Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers poised to capitalize. Brown is bringing in reinforcements from his past as he continues to build out his bench. Sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype that the Knicks are set to hire former Sacramento Kings assistant coaches Charles Allen and Riccardo Fois. Allen and Fois will help Brown navigate a Knicks roster that has added two battle-tested vets to its impressive top seven. Power forward Guerschon Yabusele and combo guard Jordan Clarkson now join All-NBA stars Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, All-Defensive Team wings OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges, 3-and-D shooting guard Josh Hart, and reserves Mitchell Robinson and Miles McBride. READ MORE:Expert breaks down how Mike Brown can improve Knicks' offense
Daily Mail
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Shane Gillis offended gay men with joke about New York Knicks star, says furious ex-ESPN radio host
The outrage from Shane Gillis' ESPYs speech shows little sign of slowing with radio host Dan Le Batard suggestion some of his jokes were offensive to gay people. Gillis made jokes about Jeffrey Epstein, Caitlin Clark and Megan Rapinoe during his speech at the glitzy event in Los Angeles earlier this week, but it was a joke about New York Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns that irked Le Batard. Towns has often been mocked on social media for what some people claim is a feminine voice. After referencing the Knicks' run in the NBA playoffs, Gillis said: 'Karl Anthony Towns is here.' He then flamboyantly shouted: 'Hey girl'. Le Batard shot Gillis down in response to the joke, saying on his show: 'The point is just to stand on the edge. Be provocative just to provoke. 'Karl-Anthony Towns, "hey girl". What's clever about that? How does that make gay people feel? How does that make Karl-Anthony Towns feel?' Le Batard's comments echo those made by Sarah Spain, another ex-ESPN reporter. She appeared to more incensed at the jokes Gillis made about Rapinoe and Clark. 'Megan Rapinoe could not make it tonight... nice,' Gillis said about the former USWNT soccer captain before adding . 'No? We're gonna pretend she's a good time? Alright.' The actor and comic also mocked 4ft 8in Olympic gymnast Biles over her height and the WNBA over its lesser-known players while saying about Clark: 'When Caitlin Clark retires from the WNBA, she's going to work at a Waffle House so she can continue doing what she loves most: fist fighting Black women.' She wrote on X: 'In a year of crazy growth for women's sports choosing an ESPYs host who doesn't even try to make clever jokes about women athletes (he at least *attempted* for the men) he goes with hacky "no one knows the WNBA" bits, "Pinoe is a bad time" & repeatedly insults Black women. COOL.' Gillis had mixed success with his jokes on the night after some drew huge laughter from the crowd and others failed to land.
Daily Mail
18-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Suni Lee finally breaks silence on dating links to New York Knicks star OG Anunoby
USA Olympic hero Suni Lee has poured cold water on rumors that she is dating New York Knicks star OG Anunoby. The 22-year-old Lee, a six-time Olympic medalist, was the subject of the rumors after repeated visits to Knicks games last season - where she was often seen deep in conversation with Anunoby. It sparked plenty of online speculation, with some joking that Anunoby, 28, had his best games when Lee was courtside but now the gymnast has finally had her say. 'Honestly, it just started off as a joke, and I feel like social media kind of just, like, took it further than that,' she told the Mirror. 'But yeah, we're just friends, and I'm really good friends with a bunch of the guys on the Knicks team, like [Karl-Anthony Towns], and then also I'm really close to [Towns' partner Jordyn Woods ] as well, so it's cool to see them doing their thing. 'Honestly, I just enjoy watching basketball, which is why I went to most of the games. 'There's nothing there. We're just friends. I fully support all of them, and I support the Knicks.' She added that her friendship with Towns and his wife Jordyn helped her settle when she moved to new York last year. 'I met Jordyn and KAT when I was in Minnesota, and when they were in Minnesota as well,' she said of Towns' time with the Timberwolves. 'And then when I moved to New York, he got traded, so it was really nice to see some familiar faces in New York and just keep that friendship.' Lee competed alongside Simone Biles at the Paris Olympic Games last summer, winning gold together in the women's team all-around. She added two bronze medals to her tally in the individual all-around and the uneven bars. Upon receiving her award for 'Best Comeback Athlete' at the ESPYS in Los Angeles this week, Lee paid an emotional tribute to the doctor that helped her overcome a rare kidney disease. 'To Dr. Marcia Faustin, she's actually here in the crowd with me today, thank you for guiding me through the toughest moments, reading every scan and report by my side,' Lee said. The Knicks, meanwhile, were knocked out of the playoffs by the Indiana Pacers earlier this year after overcoming the Boston Celtics in a thrilling six-game series.
