Ayesha Curry, mother of star baby Riley and wife of Golden State Warrior Steph Curry, wrote an open letter to sports fans and journalists alike who aren’t into her two-year-old acting like a two-year-old during her father’s NBA press conferences. In summation, Riley’s happiness is more important than yours so have a seat.
In the last few weeks, as Riley has stolen the show at Golden State Warriors press conferences starring her dad Steph Curry, some people like me were throughly entertained while others, like some sports journalists, were pissed. These journalists were supposed to write stories culled from Curry’s quotes during the presser but could barely get a question in edge-wise between Riley hamming it up. To be fair, I find NBA press conferences boring as fuck, so bring on the kids man. Bring them all.
But Ayesha gave an intelligent take in Time on the backlash, ultimately saying that just because her husband is possibly the greatest three-point shooter in basketball history and is in the midst of playing against the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James, possibly the best baller of our time, he’s still Riley’s dad, which will always be more important.
Last week, Riley joined her father in a press conference, and some thought she stole the show. I thought it was beautiful, and I wouldn’t change a thing. There can be more than 50 people and 10 cameras—not counting camera phones—in the room during press conferences, so it can be overwhelming. But my husband handled his duties on the podium with ease and class. And my daughter was who she is—vibrant, spunky, and full of life. I hope she carries this with her through adulthood.
Stephen attends practice every day, and gives his all during the games on an almost-nightly basis. When that’s over, all he wants is to see his family, and on the day of that press conference, our daughter wanted to be with her father. I thought it was beautiful for him not to push his daddy duties to the bottom of the list just because all eyes were on him. I believe you should let your children be children, and don’t be afraid to be a parent, regardless of who’s watching.
Family matters! Our children matter! At the end of the day, when all the lights dim, and the cameras are gone, we are still here as his biggest, loudest, and most supportive cheerleaders. We are also extremely proud that in spite of some criticism, Riley was able to share in that experience with her father and bring joy and laughter into the lives and homes of many all over the world.
You know what this means? More Riley! I, for one, am thrilled because while the first game of the 2015 NBA Finals was fantastic last night—Go Warriors! Go Bay Area!—I missed the little rabble rouser.
Contact the author at hillary@jezebel.com.
Image via AP.