Heat coach Erik Spoelstra’s ex-wife fires back at trolls after NBA champ’s lucrative extension: ‘Be nicer’
Nikki Sapp, the ex-wife of Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, fired back at critics who claimed she dropped the ball for divorcing the two-time NBA champion before his lucrative contract extension.
Spoelstra and the Heat agreed to an eight-year extension earlier this week, reportedly worth around $120 million. He is currently in his 16th season as the Heat head coach. The new agreement came after he and Sapp announced they agreed to divorce.
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Erik Spoelstra and Nikki Sapp participate in the Annual Thanksgiving Celebration on Nov. 19, 2019 at the Miami Rescue Mission in Miami. (Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images)
Social media trolls immediately came after Sapp, saying “way to fumble the bag.” She spoke out against critics on her Instagram Stories on Wednesday.
“Lol. I’m going to address this comment NOT as it pertains to my personal life choices but as it relates to a general thought process that I believe a lot of people have and that a lot of people have harassed me with over the years,” she wrote, according to the New York Post. “According to crass, ignorant, uninformed society at large, women can’t ‘win.’
“Women can’t be genuinely in love with someone successful. No, they’re pretending and they’re in it for the money. And if a woman chooses to not be with a successful partner, apparently she’s an idiot.”
Sapp said comments like those “messed with my emotional health and people need to have a better understanding of how their words can affect other people.”
Erik Spoelstra and Nikki Sapp attend the 2017 NBA Awards at Basketball City – Pier 36 – South Street on June 26, 2017 in New York City. (Paul Zimmerman/WireImage)
She implored her followers and people in general to just “be nicer.”
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The couple announced their decision to divorce in a joint statement in November.
“We have made the difficult yet amicable decision to jointly file to formally end our marriage,” they said in a statement. “We are both grateful for our relationship and remain fully committed to co-parenting our children and continuing to make them our shared priority.
“We appreciate everyone’s support as we move to the next stage of our lives and thank you for respecting our family’s privacy.”
The Spoelstras married in 2016 and have three children together. According to the New York Post, the two were first linked in 2013 but did their best to keep their relationship out of the public sphere.
Erik Spoelstra started with the Heat in 1997 and worked in all different parts of the organization before he took over for Pat Riley before the start of the 2008-09 season. He helped guide the team to NBA championships in 2012 and 2013.
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra gestures during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
He was also named one of the top 15 coaches in NBA history.
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Nikki Spoelstra is a former Heat dancer and the host of the popular podcast “The Know with Nikki Spo.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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