Over 14 seasons in the NBA with 10 different teams, Matt Barnes made plenty of headlines. And even after officially retiring last month (after winning his first championship this past year with Golden State, no less), he’s continuing to do that.
On Wednesday, Barnes took to Instagram (the same place he announced his retirement, interestingly enough) to announce a boycott of McDonald’s. And why, pray tell, is he doing that?
Well, he’s upset that Shareef O’Neal (Shaq’s son) was left out of this year’s McDonald’s All-American Game, the annual high-profile showcase for many of the top high school players out there:
That’s certainly quite the move, especially considering that Barnes was only teammates with Shaq for one season (2008-09 with the Phoenix Suns) and that it’s not actually McDonald’s executives selecting the teams. (It’s a long and complicated process, including a selection committee “comprised of the nation’s most knowledgeable high school analysts, prep scouts, high school newspaper reporters and prestigious basketball coaches.”)
Barnes does seem to have a bit of a point that Shareef (an Arizona commit) is a notable snub, as ESPN’s Jeff Goodman listed him as such (he’s 24th in their prospect rankings), and the likes of LeBron James and Shaq himself have questioned the decision and offered Shareef public encouragement after this.
But a boycott is taking this to a new level, and taking away McNuggets from kids probably isn’t going to make them happy. At least Barnes isn’t driving 95 miles to fight anyone this time, though.