Charlotte Hornets forward Gordon Hayward is out indefinitely with a fracture in his shoulder, and his wife claims the team’s medical staff made some very poor decisions in the lead-up to the serious injury.
On Friday, The Athletic’s Shams Charania was the first to report that Hayward was going to miss a significant amount of time for the Hornets after he was diagnosed with a shoulder fracture. The 13-year veteran is set to get evaluated further in the coming days, but the injury is the latest in what has been a long history for the 32-year-old.
In over two and a half seasons just with Charlotte, Hayward has only played in 49 or more games and is set to have a similar mark with this latest diagnosis. He has also only played in 11 games so far this season.
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However, Gordon Hayward’s spouse Robyn took to her Instagram on Saturday to show support for her husband and unleash some grievances as she claimed the team’s medical staff has a poor history of their own.
Gordon Hayward’s wife says Charlotte Hornets doesn’t protect players health
Following Charania’s story, the team released a revised injury report but claimed a shoulder contusion was the reason Hayward was out. That public statement rubbed Robyn Hayward the wrong way and she let it be known in posts on her Instagram stories.
In it, she claimed the organization and its medical staff were deceiving the public, let Gordon Hayward play with a serious injury, and are attempting to make her husband look bad in the process.
“He actually has a fractured scapula … that they had him play with last game … that’s why he couldn’t move his arm up in the last game. Everyone who knows Gordon knows he has one goal and that’s to win and play the right way. He’s the most truthful person you’d find. If he’s not gonna play it’s for something more than a bruise.”
– Robyn Hayward on Hornets injury report (via Ryan McDonald)
However, her tirade did not end there. In a follow-up post, Mrs. Hayward bashed the organization for not “protecting players” and claimed family members of other talents on the roster feel the same way.
“Just to clarify — since the team doesn’t say. It’s a fracture in the shoulder. Which is a broken bone. I’m over them not protecting players. Just was talking with a young player’s mom and she was saying the same thing.”
– Robyn Hayward on Hornets (via Ryan McDonald)
- Gordon Hayward stats (2022): 11 G, 16.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 4.4 APG, 38% 3PT
The Charlotte Hornets are in the midst of a terrible start to the season after young star LaMelo Ball missed much of the first month. They are 6-14 and in fourth place in the Southeast Division.