Joe Budden Apologizes For Comments About Kawhi Leonard's Late Father

He said he would never speak ill of the dead.
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Joe Budden has issued an apology to Kawhi Leonard after his comments about the Toronto Raptor player's father surfaced. During a recent episode of Budden's podcast, the host spoke on Mark Leonard and called him a "killer." Budden claimed it was a "fact" and said, "Dad is in jail for I think whatever. I won't get into it, I'm afraid. And the uncle is out handling the business [as Kawhi's manager]. When you look at Kawhi and his game and his demeanor, don't it sound right? And, then you're happy to know that."

His co-host Rory jumped on the computer to verify the information and found that what Budden said was incorrect. "That's false information, Joe," Rory said. "His father, Mark, was shot and killed January 18, 2008, at the Compton carwash he owned. He may have been involved in something, but he is now passed away." Budden replied, "Okay, rest in peace to Kawhi's dad. That doesn't change my story at all. Alright, so he's not here. But guess what? In the articles that I read before he left, he was getting busy. And to my knowledge, I think the uncle's gettin' busy."

Claus Andersen/Getty Images

Earlier today, Budden was back on his podcast talking about NBA Finals. Before they all got into who they wanted to take home the championship between the Raptors and the Golden State Warriors, Budden didn't want to proceed with the conversation without first giving his apology. He said, "I need to apologize to anyone that was offended by any of my or our Kawhi commentary last week. Some of you said it was in poor taste. I recognize how it can be taken that way. We were talking in code, or I was talking in code, alluding to some things that are not important and I totally did not see that outlook, so I do want to apologize if anyone was offended."

He continued, "I never thought that would be looked at as joking on death. I just don't play that way. I don't joke on the dead, any of that. No need to get a long, drawn-out explanation. I certainly was not joking on the dead and never want that to be taken that way, so let's issue an apology to anyone who offended, as well as Kawhi, as well as [his] uncle. You in the finals, you don't need any of this mess right now. My voice shouldn't be the one to do that."

You can listen to the full episode here and catch the apology around the 11:30 mark.