Enacting Noah Lyles' covid-hit bronze, Gilbert Arenas' mocks world's fastest man: "Motherf***ker was weekend at Bernie's"
Noah Lyles has earned the ire of NBA fans, players, and other personalities in the league for mocking NBA teams for calling themselves 'world champions' when they win the title. At the heels of winning the Olympic gold in the men’s 100-meter sprint and the bronze in the 200-meter event, Lyles remained on the receiving end of NBA stars’ wrath, including former Washington Wizard Gilbert Arenas.
Arenas mocked Lyles for his COVID-hit performance that caused him to slip to the bronze medal. He also made fun of how Lyles looked during the end of the sprint.
The podcast host then taunted Lyles for asking for help and coughed repeatedly when he was gassed out in the bronze-medal finish.
“That is how you are going to be remembered,” said Arenas while laughing at Lyles’ exhausted face.
Arenas continued to poke fun at Lyles’ bronze medal, calling it a “penny-colored” medal in the caption of the Instagram post.
“Noah Lyles Turned into Weekend at bernies when he won that PENNY colored medal,” Arenas wrote.
Arenas’ beef with Lyles stemmed from his “World Champion of what?” comment on NBA Finals winners. The remark has caught the attention of NBA players from past and present, and some NBA fans around the world, who did not support Lyles during the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Gilbert Arenas accused Noah Lyles of faking COVID as an excuse for his bronze medal win
When Noah Lyles crossed the finish line in the 200-meter sprint, he looked more tired than when he won the 100-meter race a few days prior. He struggled to breathe and asked for medical attention right after.
A few hours later, Lyles was diagnosed with COVID-19, which explained the exhaustion he felt after the sprint.
However, Arenas did not believe it and blasted him for making an excuse in an episode of the “No Chill" podcast.
"[Lyles] was so strong on COVID that he tore out of his jersey," Arenas said. "He didn't tear his jersey during the race... What kind of COVID boost was that? Come on, Noah, man, take your bronze and keep it moving. We didn't need to see that."
"Over here talking about 'he really had COVID.' No the f*** he didn't... You can't be Superman before, and then all of a sudden, your a** is the sickest man walking this planet," he added.
Lyles also received backlash when videos circulated of him partying with other people in Paris and potentially spreading the virus. The clips also resulted in questions about the accuracy of the diagnosis which caused Lyles to exit the race in a wheelchair.