Ahmad Austin Jr.May 12th, 2026, 11:16 am

Fox Sports pundit Nick Wright argued that professional athletes shouldn’t bring their kids to press conferences following losing performances.

Wright made the case on Monday’s episode of First Things First. His take was largely inspired by Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid, who was joined by his son as he took questions from the media after Sunday’s season-ending loss to the New York Knicks.

According to Wright, the presence of someone’s kid “shields” them from being asked tough questions. He continued:

Bringing children to press conferences after losses should not be allowed. And I think Joel Embiid is obviously an awesome family man and a great dad; and when we first saw it with– I think it was [Stephen Curry’s] daughter, Riley, not only was it adorable, here’s the other thing: it was in the midst of them always winning and all the press conference stuff was just celebratory. And so it was cute, and there was never a, “Oh man, I kind of need to ask him an awkward question, but he has this adorable child with him.”

It is, whether intentional or not, the ultimate effect is your kid is shielding you from what could be tough or uncomfortable questions. That is the point of those press conferences. And I’m not picking on Embiid because he’s not the only guy to do it.

Wright went on to praise the current generation of NBA for involving their children so heavily in basketball activities, noting that Sports Illustrated published a controversial feature in 1998 that examined the absentee fathers of the league.

“But I don’t think after season-ending losses, when you’re talking about your future with a team, that you should have your kid on your lap,” Wright continued. “I know this is– I’ll just get ripped for it, but I know I’m right.”

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