Chicago Bulls guard DeMar DeRozan has responded to reports of online threats against his 9-year-old daughter Diar after she went viral for her blunt attendance at a game earlier this week.
DeRozan told ESPN on Friday that the reported threats were “insane” and “it’s the world we live in.”
“No matter how good something might be, there are still miserable people who just don’t have a life, honestly. It’s sad,” he said. “All I care about is that my daughter enjoys her moment.”
A spokesman for the Bulls told ESPN Friday that the league notified the team that there had been online threats against the child after the Bulls defeated the Toronto Raptors in Toronto on Wednesday night.
Diar went viral after screaming loudly – and hilariously – as Raptors players approached the free-throw line during the game.
The young girl’s screams were so loud that many basketball fans joked that she might even have helped the Bulls secure their 109-105 win. The raptors Missed 18 of 36 Free throws during the game.
DeRozan told reporters on Wednesday that Diar had asked to be a part of that game and that he finally agreed to allow her to miss a day of school. But when asked if Diar would be attending another game in the near future, the Bulls’ warden said, “No, she has to go back to school.”
DeRozan spoke about any negativity surrounding his daughter’s age-appropriate behavior at the game said the Chicago Sun-Times“It’s just sad and pathetic that some people sit up and use their fingers to make some useless threats against children.”
According to the Sun-Times, security at Wednesday night’s game offered to escort Diar out of the Toronto Scotiabank arena, but DeRozan said he wanted to stay with her instead.
“She went with me,” he told the publication. “I was with her. I guarantee you that nothing will ever happen when I’m with my daughter.”