yahoo - 5/6/2026 11:14:26 PM - GMT (+2 )
Ric Flair, the legendary professional wrestler, might have captured the frustration of some Los Angeles Lakers fans over Luka Doncic having been sidelined for the past five weeks with a Grade 2 hamstring injury.
Flair also hit a nerve.
Famous for his signature "woo,'' Flair sounded off on X, writing “Luka, Please Get In The Game! Take A Shot Of Cortisone And Deal With The Pain! They Are Paying You 50 Million A Year, And You’re Not There! WTF! I Hope @JeanieBuss Trades You Next Year. Nobody Wants A Lame Duck On Their Team!’’
Flair got some backlash on his X account, with the Lakers trailing the Oklahoma City Thunder 1-0 in the Western Conference semifinals playoff series.
“Buddy this is a real sport you’re talking about,’’ one commenter wrote to Flair. “Not some oiled up play wrestling wearing speedos feeling up on other dudes.’’
Wrote another, “Listen you crusty old grave dodger. The reason why Luka got injured in the first place is because they had him play for NO REASON.’’
And yet another wrote, “I hope Luka knows we Laker fans don’t co-sign this.’’
ANALYSIS: Lakers lost Game 1 by 18. It might only get worse vs. Thunder
Did Doncic see the tweet, or was it just coincidence? But the day after Flair's social media post, Doncic talked to reporters for the first time since he injured his hamstring on April 2 in a 139-96 loss to the Thunder.
"It's very frustrating," Doncic told reporters, per ESPN. “I don't think people understand how frustrating it is. All I want to do is play basketball, especially this time. It's the best time to play basketball.
"It's very frustrating seeing what my team is doing. I'm very proud of them. It's been very tough to just to sit and watch them play."
Flair’s tweet also coincided with the Lakers’ 108-90 loss to the Thunder in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ric Flair tweet attack Lakers star Luke Doncic elicits backlash
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