"There is no apology" - Kenyon Martin halts live show to confront Gil’s Arena staffer for mocking his stutter
Kenyon Martin has always been one of the realest athletes in the NBA. Whether that was during his 15-year stint in the league or even after, when he has thrived as a popular media personality renowned for his fearless, at times controversial, takes, the former number one overall pick has never been afraid to speak his mind.
On Tuesday's "Gil's Arena," K-Mart once again proved that he is not one to bite his tongue when it comes to addressing issues that he feels need to be brought to light, as he confronted one of the show's staff members over the remarks he made in a video about the former NBA big man's speech impediment.
Kenyon called it blatant disrespect
In a surreal moment captured during a livestream, K-Mart asked for some time to address a personal situation involving someone they worked with. The 6'9" forward from Michigan said he felt slighted when this staff member was seen making comments about his stuttering in a video.
What made matters worse was that this person was someone Kenyon had welcomed into his home, broken bread with, and he felt betrayed by the blatant disrespect shown to him.
"I brought this person into my home, right? Had this person around my wife, my kids, right? Ain't treating him nothing but respect, right? And this is a loyalty situation… When people tell you, 'Be careful who you bring into your inner circle,' yeah — be careful who you bring into your home. This is the situation that I'm speaking of right now," Martin said before calling over the staff member.
After K-Mart replayed the video of the man apparently making fun of him and his stuttering, he emphasized that his speech impediment is a deeply personal issue for him — one he has spoken about numerous times.
"The stuttering and all that stuff. That's kids. It made me stronger. It made me who I am right now. That's why I appreciate everything now. That's why I work hard, play hard," K-Mart said in a previous interview.
In saying that, he made it clear that there's no amount of apologies the staff member can give to make amends for what he did.
"I drew a line in the sand a long time ago with this. There's no apology ever, as an adult, that I will accept for this," Martin exclaimed.
Kenyon said this is what disloyalty looks like
What hurt K-Mart the most was that the staffer was someone he felt comfortable around to the point where he even had him for Thanksgiving dinner on several occasions.
"So this is what disloyalty and people who don't respect you look like. People like him," K-Mart stated, pointing to the staffer beside him. "Be careful who you invite into your home, who you have around your loved ones and your friends and family."
"I have a speech impediment that everybody knows how I feel about this, right? People that don't have a voice, able to speak up for themselves. This is what this is about. You don't tease something of someone I have no control over and think it's okay," he added.
As tense as the entire studio was during that brief seven-minute episode, it showed Martin's maturity. A decade ago, he might have dealt with the situation differently. But on this day, he understood the importance of keeping his composure and using his words to convey a powerful message.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Mar 18, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
