You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in the NBA memed more than JR Smith. He’s been known unofficially as the NBA’s “Henny God” for so long.
You’ve seen the memes. You know what I’m talking about. JR Smith is always pictured with a photoshopped bottle of Hennesy. And that’s despite him not actually drinking Hennessy.
But, now, Smith is tired of it. He’s done with the Henny God jokes.
It was fine at first. Funny, even. But it’s been years, at this point. The jokes are old and tired. He’s moved on to bigger things like going back to school to get his degree at North Carolina A&T.
He’s officially enrolled and has even been approved to play golf with the HBCU by the NCAA. That’s a pretty dope thing.
But y’all know the internet, though. The jokes gotta fly — even for something as cool as this. That’s exactly what happened. Someone saw JR Smith walking the A&T campus and made a Henny God joke.
JR Smith enrolling in college is electric 🤘 (via https://t.co/mvqmTMl3lS) pic.twitter.com/CxDGe3NiH8
— Overtime (@overtime) August 24, 2021
Smith wasn’t rocking, though. He left a comment on Instagram saying enough is enough with the jokes. They’re tired. And he’s absolutely right. They are.
Warning: There is some NSFW language in this post.
I’m excited @TheRealJRSmith goes to #NCAT but y’all need to realize he is a person trying to better himself. Give him his space and privacy. Network with him and engage in intellectual and meaningful conversation. Proud of you J.R., do your thing. #AggiePride 💙💛💯 pic.twitter.com/z1SoSZb8aV
— Queen Nadiya 👑💖🎶 (@QueenByDesign_) August 24, 2021
“As a Black man in America you still can’t move on from the [expletive] that people continue to put on your name. Not one positive post about going to school and trying to better myself. Y’all make it look so weak/corny to inspure my people to want to do better…”
Smith has a point, man. This is a really good thing he’s doing! It’s not for publicity. It’s not because he wants a spotlight. It’s because he’s legitimately trying to get his degree and give himself a new experience.
He told us himself. He was on Instagram Live with some players from the NC A&T’s football team and they asked why Smith was back in school.
His answer was simple: To get a degree.
Lakers Champion Jr. Smith on Attending @ncatsuaggies:
“I got everything else just need my degree,” says @TheRealJRSmith.#LakeShow #NBA #NBATwitter #NCAT pic.twitter.com/D9rjUWcxnX
— Landon Buford (@LandonBuford) August 24, 2021
“I got everything else. Just need my degree.”
And that’s a pretty cool thing, man. It’s something he should be extremely proud of and probably not something we should be making jokes about.