[McMenamin] Bitadze, in a phone interview with ESPN and the Orlando Sentinel, said Doncic cursed at him in Serbian first and Bitadze merely repeated the same curse back to him: “He just said some inappropriate things in the Serbian language, which, I played in Serbia, I understand.”
Source: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/48275615/lakers-appeal-nix-luka-doncic-16th-technical-foul
Bitadze, in a phone interview with ESPN and the Orlando Sentinel, said Doncic cursed at him in Serbian first and Bitadze merely repeated the same curse back to him.
“I have all the respect for Luka and what he has done,” Bitadze said. “And I really respect everybody’s family. Where I come from, it’s really sacred and we really respect each other’s families and I would never directly say that. He just said some inappropriate things in the Serbian language, which, I played in Serbia, I understand.
“I don’t know if he knew I understood what he said. So, I just said it back. And it was nothing towards his family or anybody. His family, I really, truly respect them.”
When asked to clarify what barbs were volleyed between the two, Bitadze said: “He said something about my mother, which, it’s really inappropriate. We don’t say that stuff during the game. … So I just said whatever he told me or [about] my mother [and] said it back.”
Bitadze added: “It was just in the heat of the moment. I heard what he said and I felt like I had to respond the same way. So, from my side, if he feels like I said something too much or crossed the line, I apologize as a man. I can take [accountability], but I didn’t say anything but what he said.”