ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins Blasts Steve Kerr for Making Jayson Tatum Feel ‘Embarrassed’

Perkins didn't hold back.

Jul 28, 2024; Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France; United States head coach Steve Kerr talks to shooting guard Stephen Curry (4) in the second quarter against Serbia during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade Pierre-Mauroy. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

The U.S. men's basketball team kicked of its Paris Games on Sunday with a convincing 110-84 victory over Nikola Jokic and Serbia. While Kevin Durant and LeBron James were stellar in the win, the biggest storyline afterward was the fact that Boston's Jayson Tatum didn't play a second in the game.

Team USA coach Steve Kerr said afterward that he wanted to get Durant involved more in the game after the Suns star missed all of the exhibition games leading up to the Olympics. He also added that Tatum will play in Wednesday's game against South Sudan.

ESPN's Kendrick Perkins blasted Kerr during Monday's First Take, saying it was disrespectful to not play the Celtics star and that Tatum probably felt embarrassed by it.

"You know what Jayson Tatum is going to bring to the table," Perkins said. "You do not disrespect him and embarrass him the way that you did."

He added:

"In this world today we live in a world of social media. We can’t run from it and we can’t hide from it. It’s right there in font of our face. In no way in hell can you tell me Jayson Tatum wasn’t embarrassed."

Here's Perkins's full argument:

"You know what Jayson Tatum is going to bring to the table. You do not disrespect him and embarrass him the way that you did."

—@KendrickPerkins on Steve Kerr sitting Jayson Tatum vs. Serbia pic.twitter.com/R1OpgRaU8a

— First Take (@FirstTake) July 29, 2024

It will be interesting to see how Tatum bounces back and performs when he gets some playing time on Wednesday.