Ric Flair hits out at NBA players who have made him fall out of love with game
WWE legend Ric Flair has outlined what is driving him away from the sport of basketball, while admitting he's not as much of a fan anymore.
With the physicality once seen in the NBA continuing to decrease, the former WWE champion blasted players he claimed “whine and b****.” While speaking to Fox News Digital, he said: “These basketball players that whine and b****, it's taken a lot of the sport away from me.”
Flair also commented on the presence of load management in the league, which sees players miss some games throughout the regular season to prioritise their health and fitness. Numerous top players have been criticised for using 'load management' as a reason not to play in games over recent years, most notably Kawhi Leonard, who has not played at least 60 games in a season since 2019.
Pro wrestlers are known for performing despite being in serious pain, something Flair alluded to in his interview. "They go to work hurt," Flair said. "That’s what p***** me off today about these basketball players that stub their toe. No s***. How do you think I feel about that knowing I wrestled six months after I broke my back in a f****** airplane crash? ‘I got a torn thumbnail. Whoa, whoa, whoa.’"
Flair however did pay tribute to LeBron James and praised his work ethic and what he has achieved in basketball. "He broke Kareem's [Abdul-Jabaar] record in 21 years in the league! On the cover of Sports Illustrated at 16!" Flair said regarding the 19-time All-Star.
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On the other hand, Flair respects all wrestlers and the punishment they put their bodies through to perform at the top level. But he claimed his breed of wrestlers has disappeared over the years, something he is still trying to understand and accept.
"All they do now is go over there, practice and make money," he said. "I don’t know what else they do. No one’s paying the price anymore, I will say that. Traveling 3,000 miles a week for 50 bucks a night and a hard-boiled egg and a pig’s foot. Forget it.
"They don’t have to do what I did in the ‘70s and all that bulls**t. I mean, nobody should’ve been treated like that. But they’ve got to live it, they’ve got to sacrifice it." Flair has been making the most of his life as a retired wrestler. He has released a new energy drink called Wooooo! Energy.
Load management has become more common in the NBA in recent years (AP)They feature seven different functional mushrooms, one of which is Cordyceps which boosts energy, while Chaga provides the body with antioxidants to assist with lowering blood pressure and regulating the immune system. Describing the product, Flair’s business partner Chad Bronstein told TMZ Sports: "It's a different type of energy drink. We have a proprietary blend of functional mushrooms, not psychedelic mushrooms, to make it very clear.
"We launched in markets on the east coast in thousands of stores, we're going midwest, [west] coast, California, we're online. We're going to be making some pretty large announcements with some partnerships. We're getting involved with doing some exclusives with sports teams, as well. It's going to be a massive distribution."
Flair is also set to have a biography titled “The Last Real World Champion: The Legacy of ‘Nature Boy’ Ric Flair” released on September 18, according to a press release by ECW Press.
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