Hundreds of Ben Simmons’ fans left devastated after he failed to stop for selfies, autographs
Australia’s richest athlete snubbed Sydney fans by sneaking out the back door of a paid event on Sunday. Broadcaster Alan Jones has unloaded on Ben Simmons, telling the NBA star to just leave Australia.
Broadcaster Alan Jones has told Australia’s richest athlete Ben Simmons to “go back to America” after the basketball star snubbed fans at a basketball camp on Sunday by sneaking out the back door.
Simmons declared the Sydney camp the “best” one this year but left fans who did not pay the $200 entry fee shattered when he dodged the throng of young supporters after the event.
Simmons recently signed a $243 million five-year contract with the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, making him the nation’s wealthiest sports star.
Jones unloaded on the 23-year-old following Sunday’s camp and the furore last week which saw Simmons blame racism for a refusal to allow him entry to Melbourne’s Crown Casino.
“This bloke has lost a lot of people very quickly,” Jones said on 2GB.
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“He had promised to play for Australia at the upcoming world cup only to pull out due to scheduling issues. He withdrew from the warm up games even though fans had spent hundreds of dollars hoping to watch him play.
“And I’m told he held two training camps for junior basketball players in Sydney and Melbourne. I understand that when he arrived he walked straight past the fans, who had been waiting for hours, he refused to sign autographs or say hello.
“Ben Simmons, I know you’re an Australian but go back to America and stay there.”
Simmons hosted a basketball camp for children aged 7-18 in Melbourne two weeks ago and on Sunday, it was Sydney’s turn with hundreds of fans turning out to Castle Hill for the event.
Simmons, who grew up in Newcastle, snuck past fans when he entered the Hills Basketball stadium in the morning, refusing to sign autographs.
At the end of the camp, fans gathered outside a doorway where a heavily tinted Mercedes was parked. Simmons’ minders filed into the vehicle before the basketballer snuck out another door and got into the van.
He did not stop for any conversations, pictures or autographs.
“It was amazing, the camp was insane. That was the best camp this year,” he yelled
“Come back to my camp next year in Sydney.”
Khan, 19, from Blacktown, did not want to be photographed or publish his surname, said he thought it was poor form the only people Simmons spoke to were those who paid.
“Like, look at these kids here. They haven’t seen him and he just ran away,” he said.
“I really wanted a photo of him, I’ve been a fan since he was a rookie. It was a bit sh*t.
“I spoke to one of the coaches and he said he hardly spent any time on the court with the people who paid the money.
There were some happy faces at the clinic with Ruby and James Wandschinder flying from Brisbane to meet their hero.
“It was awesome,” Ruby, 9, said
“I have dreamt of meeting Ben Simmons and Franklin for so long.”
Franklin, the 76ers mascot, was one of the first reasons Ruby became interested in basketball.
“I watched the 2017 NBA All-Star game, and I saw him dancing and fell in love. I said to mum this morning, ‘imagine if I met Franklin today’ then I did!”
For her brother James, he had a modern approach to finding the game.
“I found this NBA2k 11 game and was playing it on the Wii. Then I started watching basketball and found Ben Simmons,” he said.
“My favourite player was Kyrie Irving, but I think after today Ben is.”
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