Opinion: Khloe curses Cleveland

Ty Sugick

Ty Sugick

There’s been no better time in history to be a Cleveland sports fan.

The Cavaliers came back from a 3-1 deficit to defeat Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. The Cleveland Indians are in the World Series behind the monstrous arms of the bullpen. And, well, the Browns are still located in Cleveland (take what you can get), so we’re still relevant enough for an NFL team.

Basketball is back, and the Cavaliers did not disappoint in their season opener against the new-look New York Knicks, embarrassing their opponent by a score of 117-88. In Tuesday night’s game, emotions ran high as the team received their rings.

Also present on opening night was reality television star Khloe Kardashian, the current girl- friend of Cavs power forward Tristan Thompson, who took to social media with pictures of the championship ring. A player’s girlfriend is typically a non-issue to fans and the general public, but this relationship serves as a different case.

The Kardashian-Thompson pairing can be troublesome; it’s not just because the relationship is in the public eye, but because it is a Kardashian who — given the family history — doesn’t have a great track record with athletes.

Kardashian has been linked to 14 other professional athletes during her time in the spotlight — Rick Fox, Matt Kemp and James Harden to name a few. Also, we can’t forget her marriage and horrible public split with the once great NBA star Lamar Odom.

Cavs fans should take a very close look into the details of the Kardashian-Odom marriage and how detrimental it was to the ex-NBA player’s health. The man was a top tier player before meeting her, and it seemed to fall apart once the two tied the knot.

While most of the team put in hard hours in the gym — which could be seen on LeBron James’ Snapchat — Thompson always seemed to be missing, even when the once unsigned guard J.R. Smith was working out alongside James. Thompson was seen during the offseason jet skiing and spending one-on-one time with Kardashian.

I believe a highly paid power forward that lacks the consistency to put up points or stretch the floor, should have focused a bit more on his jump shot, rather than his relationship status.

Everyone is clearly entitled to their personal love-life, but Kardashian might be a major reason why the Cavs might not repeat as NBA champions this season. She serves as a major distraction to Thompson’s game, and I believe Tuesday night proved that.

Thompson posted only six rebounds in 22 minutes of play, failing to add any points or assists.

So please for the sake of Cleveland, Khloe, please stay away from Cleveland and let the city continue to thrive in the sports scene. We are new to this winning thing, and we don’t want your history of ruining players to jeopardize that. 

Ty Sugick is a columnist, contact him at [email protected].