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Indiana Pacers’ Myles Turner struggled in his team’s 120-112 overtime loss to the Chicago Bulls on Monday. He went just 2-for-10 and 1-for-6 from beyond the arc with six rebounds and five fouls.
A disgruntled fan took issue with his performance and sent him three $100 Venmo requests, blaming the league’s leading shot-blocker for the loss. Turner decided to respond and trolled him by sending the fan a penny for his thoughts. The person posted Turner’s response on Twitter and the Pacers center continued to roast the fan.
don’t dish it out if you can’t take it 😭 https://t.co/S4zv0eudFU
— Myles Turner (@Original_Turner) February 19, 2021
NBA fans enjoyed the interaction so much that they started Venmo-ing Turner with their “two cents.” As the money continued to roll in, the Bedford, Texas native decided to turn the hilarity into a fundraiser. For every dollar that he receives, Turner is going to match the total and donate it all to those affected by the winter storms in Texas that left much of the state without power and water.
Bro s/o to all my fans y’all are the best for the rest of the weekend I’ll match all your Venmo responses and donate to families in need in Texas during this rough time! I’m already at 250 Dollars! From y’all’s “ 2 Cents” 😅 let’s get it! pic.twitter.com/23lQS4Q8Fi
— Myles Turner (@Original_Turner) February 19, 2021
He received his first donation late on Friday afternoon and plans to keep it going until Monday morning. While Turner hasn’t quite figured out where to direct the funds, his business manager said that he is going to target up to 10 families as well as charitable organizations.
“Some people have been sending me $33 for my number, and I have 801 [career] blocks this season so $8.01, and finding creative ways to send me messages and all this kind of stuff through Venmo, so it’s a new way of fan interaction for me,” Turner said. “A lot of people have been sending personalized messages and giving me shoutouts, and it’s been a new way for me to connect and a new form of fan engagement for me. Something I feel like hasn’t been done before. So, I want to take it and run with it.”
It only took 30 minutes before Turner was over $1,000 in donations and he will continue to accept them from anyone on Venmo (@Original_Tucker) through the weekend.