Rajon Rondo Thrashes Parents’ “Sickening” Delusion Only to Proudly Flaunt Own Academy

The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) has been a breeding ground for young talent over the years. However, a few former NBA stars believe AAU is no longer the same as it used to be. Most recently, Jamal Crawford pointed out that there is a lot wrong with AAU, however, parents top that list of wrongs. “It’s sickening. The Delusion that exists is crazy,” read a post by Crawford. And now, former Boston Celtics star Rajon Rondo, who himself sponsors a travel program in AAU, has backed Crawford’s claims.

“… about what Jamal posted… I’ve actually reposted it. It is the parents that are killing the game. You know, I see so many parents now and just got their cameras in the stands… if you’re going to record, record it to teach your kids not to make a highlight tape,” the 38-year-old said, appearing on All the Smoke with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson. Rondo further stated when the pampered kids actually encounter challenges, they lack the knowledge of how to face them.

However, before stating this opinion, he mentioned how things run differently at his AAU program, where he and the coaches act as extended dads to the kids. The 2x NBA champion called it a great experience, as he instilled a sense of discipline in the kids. “We go to bed a certain time. I take the phones. Like I said, I always say we don’t have social media, and it’s a business trip… I try to teach them the same level how we doing in NBA,” he said.

However, it is not as if Rondo never faced issues with parents at his program. He is straightforward with his approach of “either you get down with the program or you got to get out of”. With this, Rajon Rondo re-emphasized that it’s the parents that are kind of watering down the AAU.

However, this is not the first instance of an ex-NBA star mentioning watered-down AAU. In fact, the podcast host Matt Barnes had himself held a certain section of AAU dads responsible for its decline.

What does Matt Barnes think of the modern-day AAU?

The Amateur Athletic Union is presently a unit of 700,000 members and 150,000 volunteers. This shows that AAU truly believes in its motto of “Sports For All, Forever.” However, Barnes believes that quantity has now taken over the quality in AAU.

“The game, now… very watered down. I think back when I was growing up, AAU was for the best kids and if you weren’t one of those top-tier kids, you would just kind of play in your local league,” he had said on an episode of Sloane Knows. The 2017 NBA champ further stated how some dads go to the extent of building new teams if their kids are not satisfied with their AAU program.