Jabari Parker defends former Kings big man Caleb Swanigan from social media shaming
One former Kings big man spoke out in support of another Sunday when Jabari Parker made a heartfelt plea on behalf of Caleb Swanigan, a 24-year-old forward who has fallen on tough times since leaving Sacramento.
Social media users reacted to photos revealing Swanigan’s dramatic weight gain after he appeared in court to plead guilty to a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge last week in Indiana. Swanigan experienced homelessness as a child and has battled obesity throughout his life. He was listed at 6-foot-9 and 260 pounds during his playing days with the Kings and Portland Trail Blazers, but he reportedly weighs over 400 pounds now.
Parker, who now plays for the Boston Celtics, and Blazers star Damian Lillard didn’t care for the social media shaming after photos of Swanigan went viral. Parker addressed the situation during his media session Sunday, a day after scoring nine points in a Game 1 loss to the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
“l have to say something publicly,” said Parker, who signed with the Celtics in April after being waived by the Kings in March. “I have a friend who has been scrutinized on social media. I just want to be his voice because I know that he doesn’t get a lot of recognition, and he doesn’t have a chance to defend himself. For me, being in a similar situation, I want to defend Caleb Swanigan.
“This is a guy who on the Internet has gained a lot of weight and people have been scrutinizing him, but you never know what a person is going through. I just want to let everybody know out there that everybody has some type of comfort. It may show, it may not show, but you can’t discriminate somebody for handling their situation the best way they can. I just want to shed some light on his situation. I know that he’s working his way back to where he wants to be comfortably. I’m just praying for him. I know it looks bad, but I know that he’s handling it the best way that he can. I just want to give that little piece of solitude to Caleb Swanigan.”
Lillard responded to a Twitter user who asked “How the hell does one go from this to that in a year?????” in a post featuring side-by-side photos of Swanigan from his time with the Blazers and last week’s court appearance.
“He (is) clearly having real life issues. That’s how,” Lillard wrote. “You don’t know WHAT it is he’s going through to cause a drastic change. If you gone be supportive then do that but don’t ask no s--- like that like it’s not possible when you a naturally big dude and go down a dark road.”
Swanigan reportedly lived in five different homeless shelters and attended 13 different schools by the time he was 13. He overcame his difficult upbringing to become Indiana Mr. Basketball and a McDonald’s All-American as a high school senior.
Swanigan went on to play at Purdue, where he was named Big Ten Player of the Year in 2017. The Blazers selected him with the 26th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
The Kings acquired Swanigan in the trade that sent Skal Labissiere to the Portland Trail Blazers on Feb. 17, 2019. Swanigan appeared in 10 games over two seasons with the Kings before Sacramento traded him back to the Blazers along with Trevor Ariza and Wenyen Gabriel in exchange for Kent Bazemore and Anthony Tolliver on Jan. 20, 2020.
Swanigan appeared in his last NBA game in Portland’s 121-105 victory over the Phoenix Suns on March 10, 2020. He was arrested after being pulled over with 3.4 pounds of marijuana in his car on Dec. 23, 2020.
