Stephen Curry says his moon-landing comments were a joke
- Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry said on Wednesday that his comments about not believing the moon-landing were a joke.
- Curry said people who look up to him should make sure they do their homework after he was criticized for the influence his comments could have.
- Curry also said he would accept NASA's invite to go to their facilities and see evidence of the moon landing.
Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry on Wednesday told ESPN's Nick Friedell that his comments about not believing the moon landing were a joke.
Curry had said on The Ringer's "Winging It" podcast with Andre Iguodala, Kent Bazemore, and Vince Carter that he didn't think NASA's moon landing was real.
NASA responded on Tuesday by inviting Curry to their facilities and offering to show him moon rocks and tell him more about the expedition to the moon. Curry told Friedell that he would take NASA up on their offer.
"One thousand percent," Curry said. "Obviously I was joking when I was talking on the podcast."
Curry said he hadn't responded the coverage of his comments because he was "silently protesting" the outrage over it.
"I was silently protesting how stupid it was that people actually took that quote and made it law as, 'Oh my God, he's a fake moon landing truther,' whatever you want to call it, yada, yada, yada. So I was silently protesting that part about it, how the story took a life of its own."
Some criticized Curry for the comments, the latest in a developing trend of NBA players espousing conspiracy theories. Boston Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving had previously said he believed the Earth was flat. Cleveland Cavaliers guard Jordan Clarkson said he thought dinosaurs were pets for giant humans.
On Tuesday, ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption" hosts Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon blasted Curry for his comments, calling them "embarrassing" and a segue into further historical denials about slavery and the Holocaust.
Curry apologized for potentially misleading younger fans that look up to him and believe what he says.
"I am definitely going to take [NASA] up on their offer. I am going to educate myself firsthand on everything that NASA has done and shine a light on their tremendous work over the years. And hopefully, people understand that education is power, informing yourself is power. For kids out there that hang on every word that we say, which is important, understand that you should not believe something just because somebody says it. You should do your homework and understand what you actually believe."