"I don't think Noah Lyles should have been hated" - Former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arena comes out in support of the sprinter post the Paris Olympics

Noah Lyles' outing at the Paris Olympics was a success in large part, but the sprinter's critics were quick to pile onto him after he missed out on the 200m gold medal. Now, amidst all the criticism, former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arena has come out in support of the American, while asking him to consider a ‘rebrand’ to be more likable.

Lyles has always been a divisive force in the world of track and field, with many fans enjoying his loud and outspoken personality, while others labeling it arrogant. However, the criticism of the Olympic champion spilled into a different sector of the sporting world after his infamous ‘World Champion of what’ comments about the NBA.

In his comments, the sprinter lamented the fact that NBA Champions are called ‘World Champions’ despite the NBA not being a global competition. Since then, fans and certain players of the league have made their dislike for Lyles clear, with many expressing their wishes for him to come home without a medal from Paris.

Now, reacting to this controversy surrounding Noah Lyles, Gilbert Arena, joined the discussion to say that he felt the hate was unwarranted, but asked the World Champion to consider a rebranding of his personality.

“I don't think he should have been hated, I was cheering for the n**ga. I was like oh he's an American player, I want all Americans to win all the motherf***ing medals. He won bronze, let's keep it moving, collect them up. But they (fans) see someone hated, and I'm like ‘man, just the way people think about your name, you have got to do a rebrand,” he said on the Gil’s Arena podcast.

Arena further continued by asking Lyles to consider how relatable he was, and how that was affecting his popularity among fans and athletes alike.

“How many pictures did you take with other athletes? Did you go to any other American events? Because we're seeing that Sha'Carri Richardson is at the NBA game, she's at the swimming, and we're seeing other athletes go support each other. So I'm trying to figure out did another player take a picture with you champ? So the fact that you are not relatable, you have to sit back and say damn dog I'm too great to not be recognized by other athletes.”

Gilbert Arena addresses Noah Lyles' ‘World Champion of what’ comments

For Noah Lyles, the downpour of hate began after his original comments about the NBA, where he questioned why NBA Champions are referred to as World Champions. Several NBA players defended their right to be called ‘World Champions’, but Gilbert Arena didn't share those same views.

In the same podcast, Arena addressed Lyles' comments and said that he felt the sprinter was right, but that the discussion was entirely irrelevant.

“What he said is correct, but it's not a real thing right? What he said is, when you think about what he's saying is ‘they (NBA teams) are not World Champions’. Okay, we get it, but who the f**k said they are World Champions?”

He added that nobody usually refers to NBA Champions as World Champions in casual conversations and it was because of Lyles that he heard the term ‘World Champions’ used about the NBA for the first time.

“When we (him and co-host Rashad McCants) argue, I've never heard you refer to Cody Bryan as a four-time World Champion, five-time World Champion. If you have proper English, we are going to say NBA Champions. When he said World Champions, it was the first time I've heard a NBA championship, a NBA champion, be referred to as a World Champion, I've never heard that conversation prior.”

While Noah Lyles has yet to respond to Arena’s suggestions about a rebrand, the criticism for the sprinter's comments regarding the NBA doesn't seem to be ending anytime soon.