Aussie Olympic basketballer Jack McVeigh’s ‘cruel’ public swipe at wife

Basketballer Jack McVeigh has gone viral for a controversial tweet about his supportive wife that some are calling “cruel”

Basketballer Jack McVeigh, who is representing Australia at the Paris Olympics, has gone viral for a controversial tweet about his supportive wife.

Australia has been cheering McVeigh and the rest of the Boomers along as they’ve just made it into the quarter-finals.

The 28-year-old, who has recently signed for the NBA’s Houston Rockets, is also a newlywed.

He married his wife Bethany this year after being together for three years.

He is now going viral after he tweeted what he seemed to think would be an inspiring antidote, but things went south.

“I got mad at my wife after my first Olympic game. ‘You are so talented,’ she said,” the tweet read.

“Supportive and nice, right? Well, according to McVeigh, she was missing the point.

“It’s not talent. It’s dedication.’ I replied. One day you can wear the Aussie uniform. But are you willing to dedicate your entire life to trying?”

Jack McVeigh’s tweet isn’t going down well. Picture: Kelly Defina/Getty Images

He has 4000 followers on X. Pic: Michael Klein

Assumedly, the tweet was meant to convey that hard work and perseverance outweigh just natural talent, but people on Elon Musk’s playground X were divided.

The tweet has now been viewed over 100,000 times which is massive considering the basketball player only has 4000 followers.

Two hundred people have liked the tweet, but there are over 100 comments, and not everyone thinks his wife should have been the scapegoat to his greater point.

“I’d reword that Jack. It doesn’t make you sound great,” one wrote.

“Weird flex. Why would you be mad at your wife for giving you such an obvious compliment?” another asked.

Another joked, “One day, if I work hard enough, I too could be cruel to those who love me”.

Someone else threatened, “If you don’t want your wife’s compliments, then I’ll take them”.

“I’ve been behind your journey, but this just seems weird,” one observed.

Someone called the tweet “cringe”, another wrote “yikes”, and one Aussie took it a step further and wrote, “I hope we lose now”.

He normally just posts gushy stuff about his wife. Picture: Instagram/Jack McVeigh

He has called his wife his "best friend." Picture: Instagram/Jack McVeigh

Of course, there were also people supporting McVeigh’s tweet. Someone advised him not to “listen to the haters”, and someone else said what he said was “very true”.

Despite that tweet, McVeigh is usually very gushy about his wife Bethany and frequently shouts her out on Instagram. He refers to her as his “best friend”.

When they got engaged, he wrote, “Forever sounds good to me”, and to celebrate their three-year anniversary, he praised how loving she is.

“Three years of great energy and the best times. Life has been better since the moment we met. Thank you for always making me feel like I’m enough,” he wrote.

He has praised his wife for having a “great energy.” Picture: Instagram/Jack McVeigh

The pair got married in 2024. Picture: Instagram/Jack McVeigh

McVeigh’s tweet isn’t as random when you consider the rest of his online presence. He sends out a weekly basketball newsletter and is very into posting inspirational content.

He is also hustling to become a leader in his sport. On his website, he claims, “Anyone can become a professional basketball player”, and he can “show you how”.

The athlete’s social media feeds are clogged with inspirational tweets and his general thoughts on how to be a good player.

For instance, he recently tweeted that he was thankful for the Olympics because being around so many amazing players made him realise he had become “complacent”.

“Seek new challenges to keep you on your toes,” he added.

The 28-year-old’s content might not be for everyone, but he does have 25,000 followers on Instagram.

Originally published as Aussie Olympic basketballer Jack McVeigh’s ‘cruel’ public swipe at wife