Dude, I know you meant nothing by it, and I wasn't slamming you for the comment, no offense was intended, but Malone has been slammed for being a "redneck" his whole career and I frankly don't see where today's fan thinks if they aren't doing drugs, listening to gangsta rap, throwing their wives out of the house with no clothes on, and full of tats and cornrows, NBA players are somehow not "legit".
And no, I am not a redneck, I was grew up dirt poor in the Varrio's de East Los, my favorite music is blues (REAL, Robert Johnson, Howlin' Wolf blues), Rock and or Roll, and 60's and 70's funk and soul, and even lowrider oldies, I hate country music with a passion, so I guess those things might make me a "legit" homie.
However, I also hunt and fish, mountain bike like a madman, have a big lifted and totally set up Moab rockcrawler Chevy truck, and I love live Broadway theatre (especially musicals), my daughter and I have flown to New York just to see a show and turned right around and come home afterwards, and I have and associates and Bachelors degree, and only one tatoo, so maybe that shoots my "street cred"
I suppose my point is it take all kinds to make the world go 'round and however bizarre it is to see a country music loving, hunting fishing, truckdriving, black man in the NBA, I say he is still preferable to the current crop IMO.