NBA MVP Kevin Durant Apologises for India “20 Yrs Behind” Comments
Durant, one of NBA’s biggest stars, made a trip to India a few weeks back to promote the sport.
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2017 NBA MVP Kevin Durant has issued an apology for his recent comments on India where he has called the country “rough” and “20 years behind”.
Read: Cows, Stray Dogs & Then Boom! Taj Mahal: NBA’s Durant on India
The Golden State Warriors forward tweeted on Friday saying he meant no disrespect and was "sorry that my comments about India were taken out of context." He also added that he plans to return to India to run more basketball camps.
Durant traveled to India recently and spoke about the trip in an interview with The Athletic website published this week.
In the interview, Durant marveled at the "cows in the street, monkeys running around everywhere, hundreds of people on the side of the road" and visible poverty.
"It's a country that's 20 years behind in terms of knowledge and experience," he said, adding that his visit to the Taj Mahal was eye-opening and not what he'd imagined.
He'd expected the monument to be "holy ground, super protected, very, very clean," but instead as he drove up it reminded him of places where he grew up, he said.
"Mud in the middle of the street, houses were not finished but there were people living in them. No doors. No windows... stray dogs and then, boom, Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world."
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