Keyshawn Johnson didn’t apologize for cheering Jamal Murray’s injury after he was humbled by the Denver Nuggets point guard, but he did attempt to explain the polarizing take.
During Monday morning’s edition of Undisputed on FS1, Skip Bayless noted Murray was questionable for the Nuggets Game 5 matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers after straining his calf in the fourth quarter Saturday night. Johnson, who is a Lakers fan, responded by saying, “Good,” and “Yay!,” seemingly rooting for Murray to miss the game because of his injury.
Despite the injury and despite Johnson rooting for his absence, Murray didn’t miss the game. Not only did Murray play Monday night, but he led the Nuggets to a series clinching victory against the Lakers with 12 fourth quarter points, including nine in the final four minutes and the game-winner.
Tuesday morning on Undisputed, Johnson was tasked with reacting to being humbled by Murray after previously rooting for the point guard’s injury to bar him from playing.
“I’m rooting for any opportunity to have my Lakers extend the series. I knew if he played, it was going to be rough.” pic.twitter.com/7oLOgw2tRH
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 30, 2024
“You see why I didn’t want him yesterday?” Johnson asked Bayless and Paul Pierce at the start of Tuesday’s show. “When you all gave me the news of the potential injury and he was questionable. That’s why I didn’t want him to play.”
“Yesterday, you mentioned that he wouldn’t play potentially,” Johnson later continued. “And I said, ‘Good!’ Because I’m rooting for any opportunity to have my Lakers extend the series. I knew if he played it was going to be rough. You’re never going to root for an athlete, as a fan or even as a player, to be injured. But at the same time, if he gives us the edge because he’s hobbled…I’ll take that. I’ll take hobbled. But he wasn’t hobbled.”
That’s probably not the response Nuggets fans or anyone bothered by Johnson cheering Murray’s injury hoped to hear. Rooting for a player to be injured isn’t okay, but rooting for them to be hobbled… is? Johnson didn’t root for Murray to be injured, but he definitely cheered the news that Murray may have been injured.
This is a Nuggets fanbase who already feels slighted by the national media. And a member of the national media cheering the potential injury of their All-Star point guard, then explaining it off as rooting for the Lakers to get an “edge,” isn’t going to help flip the narrative.
There’s nothing wrong with Johnson openly rooting for the Lakers. Sports talk and debate shows do not require their hosts and analysts to display unbiased journalism. There’s not even anything wrong with rooting for an “edge.” But that edge can’t come from cheering the injury of another player.
