During their respective collegiate tenures, both Trae Young and JJ Redick were polarizing superstars who opposing fans loved to hate. The hate grew so prominent that fans would chant “f*ck you” at them throughout games.
Recently, Young joined Redick on his podcast, The Old Man & The Three, to discuss an array of topics, including what that dynamic was like for them so young and early in their prominence on the national stage.
“I got comfortable playing that role as a villain,” Redick said. “As a 19-year-old, it really f*cked with me. It really f*cked with me. I’d heard chants in high school, but it’s not the same thing when you’re doing a nationally televised game and everybody is like, ‘Oh, I f*cking hate you.’”
Not every NBA player can say they experienced hearing an entire student section chant “f*ck you” as a visiting player in college. @jj_redick and @TheTraeYoung can relate.
Watch the full episode: https://t.co/6Dt572eCbh pic.twitter.com/RCK4Rc0WH3
— TheOldMan&TheThree (@OldManAndThree) May 20, 2022
After sharing his own experiences and journey navigating that sort of thing, Redick turned to Young and asked if it affected him during his one year at Oklahoma.
Young didn’t require much time to contemplate on the question before replying with a resounding, “Hell yeah, it messed with me.”
“We played at Texas Tech. I was born in Lubbock, so my dad played there,” Young said. “I’m going home, I’m thinking it’s gonna be crazy, it’s gonna be nice. Midway through the first half, you get one side of the whole arena is yelling, ‘F you,’ and the whole other side is yelling, ‘Trae Young.’ It’s like, did they set this up in harmony?”
“It did mess me up early. But I think going through that helped me go through the (NBA) playoffs and whatever. Now, whenever people say it, I’m able to just brush it off.”
Redick shared how after Virginia Tech upset Duke one year and Hokie fans stormed the court, certain fans taunted his family and prevented them from leaving the arena. Eventually, Redick’s father engaged in a “public dispute” with Virginia Tech’s athletic director. He said experiencing all of that prepared for anything thrown his way in the NBA. Young agreed.
“There’s nothing you can say that I have not heard at this point,” Young said. “That’s how I feel. I’ve heard it all before.”