MIAMI — After garnering unexpected fame during Wednesday’s play-in game against the Toronto Raptors, the daughter of Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan needed to be escorted out of Scotiabank Arena by team security because of online threats.
DeRozan confirmed the TNT story after Friday’s loss to the Miami Heat, emphasizing his frustration with the negativity aimed toward Diar, his 9-year-old daughter.
“What’s crazy is it’s just the world that we live in,” DeRozan said. “No matter how good something could go, how good something could be, you still got miserable people out here who just don’t have a life. It’s sad.”
Diar quickly caught attention during Wednesday’s game when she utilized her position under the basket to distract Raptors players during their free-throw attempts by screaming.
Attention around her antics was escalated when the Raptors finished 18 for 36 from the free-throw line, which ultimately cost them the game. The story quickly spiraled — and into a dangerous virality.
“We see it every single day, but more than anything, all that I care about is my daughter enjoying her moment and enjoying her time,” DeRozan said. “We keep that within our circle. I don’t get caught up in all the negative stuff that gets caught up on the outside. That’s just me being a protector as a father. But me knowing what it’s like on the other end of being famous and everything, it’s just sad that some people just sit up and use their fingers to make idle threats to any children.”
The team took the threats seriously, but DeRozan emphasized his confidence in his daughter’s safety as he walked with her onto the team bus.
“I was with her,” DeRozan said. “I guarantee you nothing will ever happen when I’m with my daughter. It’s just idiotic people at the end of the day.”
Diar did not travel to Friday’s game in Miami — DeRozan insisted that she returned to school and she played in a basketball game Friday night.
And despite the concern raised Wednesday, DeRozan said he has been able to preserve normalcy for his daughter.
“Obviously it’s frustrating when you hear any type of threats — you don’t want to take anything lightly,” DeRozan said. “But my thing is, my daughter don’t know nothing about it. She just knows the good side that we won the game. As long as she’s happy with that, I’m not worried about nothing else.”
