Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason is dealing with a wave of online backlash after viral screenshots and posts accused him of mocking his ex-girlfriend after a miscarriage.
The claims spread this week and quickly pushed the 2025-2026 NBA regular season standout into the middle of a social media storm. Earlier this month, Eason signed a five-year, $81.5 million fully guaranteed contract to remain with the Rockets, but the attention around him has shifted sharply away from basketball.
The rumor at the center of the uproar says Eason previously got a woman identified publicly as Marilyn pregnant, with her later sharing updates about her baby bump on social media before unexpectedly losing the child. From there, the allegation is that Eason responded by trolling her through his Instagram stories rather than handling the situation privately.
Not everyone online is convinced the posts mean what critics say they do. Some users have argued the timing could be a misunderstanding, even as others have piled on and condemned the behavior as insensitive.
The mother of Tari Eason later pushed back publicly on the circulating claims, writing: “You guys have to be so much smarter than this. I was hoping that this BULLSHIT never made it over to Twitter even after today she decided to post a bunch of their text messages.
You know the cool part about me. I’m not stressing.
That’s the thing about knowing the truth. …”
She also suggested that private messages had been exchanged and that legal action could be on the table, framing the online version of events as incomplete or misleading from her point of view.
Eason has not commented since the backlash began.
On the court side, he averaged 10.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game last season. He played in 60 games, started 34 of them, and logged a career-high 25.8 minutes per contest.
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