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American sprint king Noah Lyles has maintained his stance on his ‘NBA world champions’ dig while hitting out at rapper Drake for criticising him when his album was ‘not so good’.
World 100m and 200m champion Noah Lyles believes the backlash he received after aiming a dig at NBA stars for calling themselves world champions is because he is now a global superstar.
Lyles stirred controversy in August when he criticised NBA players for calling themselves world champions when they had only won in the United States.
“I watch the NBA finals and they have ‘world champion’ on their head. World champion of what? The United States? Don't get me wrong, I love the US, but that ain't the world,” Lyles said after defending his 200m gold at the 2023 World Championship, while stressing why medallists at the event were the true world champions.
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06:32 - 15.12.2023
ATHLETICS Noah Lyles doubles down on his criticism of 2023 World Athlete of the Year Awards debacle
American sprint king Noah Lyles has continued his criticism over how World Athletics handled the 2023 World Athlete of the Year Awards.
The comment received massive backlash from basketball stars such as two-time NBA champion Kevin Durant while rapper Drake also hit out at the sprint sensation but Lyles is not bothered and feels they have only started to take notice because he is now a world-beating athlete.
“I was only surprised because I have made that comment multiple times before in my career, but this was the first time it grabbed the attention of someone,” Lyles told Mail Sport.
“If they weren't seeing my face pop up in the news so many times, why would they care? Only since I became the fastest man on the planet, now they have a reason to care.
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17:00 - 14.12.2023
ATHLETICS Radioactive Sha'Carri Richardson takes swipe at US Anti-Doping Agency over ‘unnecessary’ changes
Sha'Carri Richardson has maintained her on sought on authorities after calling out the US Anti-Doping Agency for making ‘unnecessary’ dope testing changes that ‘do not favour athletes’
“Now the fastest man on the planet says it, it's like, 'Oh my gosh, how can you say something crazy about us?”
Lyles feels the reaction from his comment went overboard since he was just using the NBA as an example.
“It's so funny because they are reacting how we would react if somebody called us not a sport. I just said that the national governing body is the national governing body,” he added.
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07:38 - 16.12.2023
ATHLETICS Hellen Obiri reveals her main motivation towards Paris 2024 Olympics
Boston and New York Marathon champion Hellen Obiri has revealed the main reason she is determined to represent Team Kenya at next year’s Olympics in Paris
“They were just being used as an example and yet they felt like the main characters. I love basketball. It was my first love, I wanted to be an NBA player when I was young.
“But I wasn't growing tall enough and I really started not to enjoy team sports because I learned that my drive for being great was not the same drive that everybody else had.”
Lyles also took a swipe at Grammy award-winning rapper and basketball fan Drake who was among those who criticised his comments.
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09:54 - 16.12.2023
ATHLETICS Brigid Kosgei strikes with course record in Abu Dhabi
2019 London Marathon champion Brigid Kosgei has announced her return with a commanding win at the ADNOC Abu Dhabi Marathon.
“He thought this speech was going to be so hard in the mirror the night before, now the whole league doesn't rate you,” Drake said in response to Lyles’ jibe but the sprinter has now fired back.
“I was just wondering what he was doing. I was just waiting for the next album. I am a little disappointed that it didn't come out so good,” said Lyles of Drake’s ‘For All the Dogs’ album released in October.
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