Former Boston Celtics player Isaiah Thomas apologized Saturday night after he called Cleveland a crass epithet in an Instagram live video.
Thomas was talking about cities in which he has played when he called Cleveland a “s---hole” in the video, which was saved and posted to Twitter by the Bleacher Report.
“I see why Bron left,” Thomas said in the video, referring to NBA star LeBron James.
Just before calling Cleveland the expletive, Thomas had kinder words for other cities, including Beantown.
“I’m just saying, Sac[ramento], L.A., and Boston was all love,” he said.
Thomas posted an apology on Twitter shortly after, and filmed another live video on Instagram in which he expressed regret over his remarks about the Ohio city.
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I apologize for my choice of words about Cleveland. I was on my live playing around. They don’t show you everything for a reason smh. Right after that I clarified what I said.... All love to everybody who had love for me in Cleveland.
— Isaiah Thomas (@isaiahthomas) August 12, 2018
In the apology video, which was saved and posted to ESPN, Thomas said he shouldn’t have said what he did, adding that “Cleveland wasn’t that bad.” .
“Cleveland was actually cool — it was, it was alright. The situation just wasn’t the best,” he said. “I apologize for saying it was a s---hole. It wasn’t a s---hole. . . . I shouldn’t have said that. That was my bad.”
In a July interview with ESPN, Thomas said he would have returned to Boston in free agency, even after he was stunned over being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Kyrie Irving following his MVP-caliber 2016-17 Celtics season. The 29-year-old signed with the Denver Nuggets last month.
Alejandro Serrano can be reached at alejandro.serrano@globe.com.