"The problem was finding time based on prior engagements"-Noah Lyles clarifies his viral comments on not going to Anthony Edwards' shoe release event

By Agnijeeta Majumder

Modified Aug 13, 2024 01:47 GMT

Noah Lyles cleared the air around his reasons for not attending Anthony Edwards' Adidas shoe release event. Lyles stated that he couldn't take time out from his prior engagements to attend the Minnesota Timberwolves player's event. Both Edwards and Lyles won Olympic gold in their respective sports at the Paris Games.

Lyles is not new to NBA controversy. The sprinter came under the scanner following his 2023 World Championships victory after his 'World Champions of what' comment about the NBA Finals went viral.

Lyles reportedly received an invitation from Adidas to attend NBA star Anthony Edwards' shoe-release event. The idea allegedly didn't sit right with Lyles as he was quoted as saying (via TIME Magazine):

"You want to do what? You want to invite me to [an event for] a man who has not even been to an NBA finals? In a sport that you don't even care about? And you're giving him a shoe? No disrespect: the man is an amazing athlete. He is having a heck of a year. I love that they saw the insight to give him a shoe, because they saw that he was going to be big. All I'm asking is, 'How you could not see that for me?'."

Soon after, he took to his X handle to deal with the shade that NBA fans were throwing at him for his comment on the professional NBA player of Minnesota Timberwolves, nicknamed 'Ant-Man'.

"There is a rumor going around that I did not go to @theantedwards shoe release because he didn’t deserve it. That is not the case he definitely deserves his shoes he is an amazing player. The problem was finding time based on my prior engagements," Lyles wrote in his X.

Noah Lyles explained the reason for his jumps and leaps at the Paris Olympics

Noah Lyles, 27, recently clocked 9.79s to win the 100m dash at the 2024 Paris Olympics. After the gold-winning feat, he earned bronze in the 200m with a COVID-19-stricken health. On his entry at Stade de France, he was seen jumping to pump himself up, which brought him to the mouth of criticism, since he was already COVID-19 positive then.

Noah Lyles cleared the air and mentioned that those body movements helped him track his body and mind and be fully prepared for his race.

"If I didn't do that, I would not have been able to encourage myself enough to get excited to run the race. I had to go in tricking my mind and my body that I was gonna run just as well as any other day," he said. (via an X post of a fan)

Noah Lyles withdrew from the 4x100m relay in Paris because of his ill health. His teammates, Christian Coleman and Kenny Bednarek botched the baton handover, which led to a disqualification.