San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama harshly criticized the NBA’s concussion protocol Sunday when his microphone suddenly cut out.
Last week, Wembanyama exited Game 2 of the Spurs’ first-round playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers after taking an ugly fall and hitting his head. The 22-year-old appeared to be briefly knocked unconscious from the fall, and he was later ruled out for the rest of the game with a concussion. He then missed Game 3 before returning to play in Game 4.
Following Sunday’s Game 4, Wembanyama made it clear he wasn’t a fan of the way the NBA goes about dealing with concussions. During his post-game press conference, he said:
I don’t want to get– I won’t get into the details. I don’t want it to become a distraction. Ask me again after the end of the season; but again, all the doctors — especially on the Spurs — but the doctors all around, they were great, took great care of me. But the way the situation was handled was very disappointing, you know. Not on the Spurs, again.
Then, the audio from the NBA TV feed suddenly cut out. After a few seconds of silence, the feed cut to a screen that read, “Press conference will resume shortly.” Seconds later, the feed returned with audio. Wembanyama was still talking about his concussion and league’s handling of it.
According to a report from Jared Weiss of The Athletic, Wembanyama thought he could play in Game 3. When the league wouldn’t clear him, he went to an independent neurologist. Those efforts, however, were futile.
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