Karl Malone John Stockton interview reaction

Source: JEFF HAYNES / Getty

If you Google both Karl Malone and John Stockton separately, you’ll probably come across some stories that will either disgust you, make you roll your eyes, blow a raspberry, mutter frustratedly, or all of the above. Particularly when it comes to some of the allegations against Karl Malone like those that Black Enterprise reported on back in February of 2023.

The article details an Audacy report that Malone impregnated a 13-year-old girl and abandoned both her and the child when he was already 20 years old.

People aren’t quick to forget things like that…

So, when the Utah Jazz announced that Malone and his professionally inseparable teammate and staunch COVID-denier John Stockton were sitting down to tell old war stories, folks on social media went Game of Thrones to remind the franchise that “The North remembers”.

While John Stockton’s exploits might not reach the depraved and delinquent lows of Malone’s egregious exploits, he’s still a cold weirdo with heavy MAGA and Newsmax vibes.

“Never meet your heroes” remains undefeated.

Without the on-court contributions of Malone and Stockton, the Utah Jazz don’t have much to celebrate in their 50th year of existence with no championships and only 2 conference titles. That said, the NBA created “the bubble” to demonstrate their dedication to taking COVID-19 seriously. The league also pivoted more deeply into social justice issues that are centered around the safety of Black lives. All that is to say that celebrating an accused deadbeat dad with an “alleged” inability to recognize when a sexual partner is too young for him and a COVID conspiracist doesn’t quite jive with the league’s previous…marketing efforts.