J.R. Smith Is ‘Disappointed In Himself’ Over Beating Up A Looter Breaking His Car Window

A number of NBA players joined protests nationwide against police brutality and racial injustice following the recent killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. Among them was J.R. Smith, who is currently in Los Angeles as he continues training for a hopeful return to the NBA, and after he joined in a protest near his home, he returned to find a looter breaking the windows of his car.

Smith was videoed punching and kicking the looter, who eventually ran off, and while many have said it was justified, Smith told Pat McAfee on Monday that he was disappointed in himself for how he handled the situation.

“You know what’s sad, is after like the first two kicks I really got in, in the third one you can see there wasn’t that much emphasis on it, cause at that point — when it happened, I seen red, and then when I finally snapped to I was so, I’m still like disappointed with myself even if people say I shouldn’t be,” Smith said. “It’s like, for me, I’m 34 years old. I have 4 little girls at home. I don’t want that image, regardless of the fact whether it was right or wrong, I don’t want them to have the image of their dad being capable of doing that, and doing something like that.”

Smith talked about how when he joined in the protests, he felt there was so much unity and love as he helped to hand out water bottles and peacefully protesting through the street, and then when he returned to the street he lived on, he found his car windows being broken. He talked about how that hurt because he’s the only black person on his block, and expressed frustration with how people have been somewhat aimlessly expressing their anger without full thought on who the target should be.