“Don’t Be Sending No F**king Kid”: Carmelo Anthony ‘Outraged’ At Victor Wembanyama’s Signed Jersey Going Up For Auction

San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama seems like a genuinely good person, in addition to being a freak of nature on the basketball court. In late December he sent out a tweet inviting people to come play chess with him in Central Park while on a New York road swing to play the Knicks and the Nets, and it was one of the most heartwarming NBA stories of the year when hundreds of people turned out for a chance to interact with and play against the young legend.

After that Nets game, Wemby took part in one of the most epic jersey swaps with a pint-sized young fan.

Best jersey swap ever 🥹 pic.twitter.com/mcJxJQXlJI

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) December 28, 2024

What a magical moment, right? That’s surely what Wemby thought. Wrong, as mere hours later the jersey was already put up for auction.

Carmelo Anthony took to his 7PM in Brooklyn podcast to talk about how incidents like this sadly happen all the time, and how adults are using kids as props just so they can benefit monetarily from getting autographs from famous athletes.

“I’ve seen it where the dad or the guy come over, you probably don’t sign it, and he send the kid over. I was like, ‘Man, you got the same shirt that man had, where you get that hat from, he just had that?’ … That happens, I’ve seen it. You wind up signing the s*** anyway because you feel bad, like ah it’s a kid, you know what I mean. But you be wanting to curse the guy out, like, ‘Man don’t be sending no f****** kid over here. You ask. You get turned down, you get turned down.'”

One bad experience hasn’t dampened Wemby’s enthusiasm for giving back to kids

Wemby reacted to finding out that the jersey had quickly been put up for auction with the loudly crying face emoji, and then he went and won it so he could get the jersey back.

Despite this, Wemby is still giving back whenever he can. Earlier this week, he helped unveil a pair of brand-new basketball courts in his hometown of Le Chesnay, France, to be used by people in the community.

He spearheaded the project and designed the courts himself, and the Spurs helped finance the $500,000 construction costs. The Spurs are in town to play the Pacers in a special pair of games, so the timing worked out.

Wemby is still only 21 years old, but he clearly has a good head on his shoulders when it comes to giving back to basketball fans. Thankfully it seems that one sour experience hasn’t changed that.