De’Aaron Fox breaks silence on alleged $1.5 million NFT scam
Sacramento Kings star De’Aaron Fox is in some hot water right now after he decided to pull out of an ongoing NFT project named “SwipaTheFox.” The worst part about this is that people have already purchased the NFTs — to the amount of a whopping $1.5 million — before Fox decided to pull the plug on the project entirely.
According to a report by NFT resource website, Web3 Is Going Great, the Kings guard himself announced via the project’s Discord that he has decided to temporarily remove his participation after realizing that he had “overstepped and stretched myself too thin, trying to do this project in the middle of an NBA season.”
Fox also made an official statement via Twitter explaining his abrupt decision to pull out in order to focus on his basketball:
I want to address an NFT project we launched recently. The project launch was ill timed. I delegated certain aspects to the launch of the NFT in an attempt to partner with professionals. We weren’t happy with the execution & demand on my time and attention during the NBA season.
— De’Aaron Fox (@swipathefox) February 24, 2022
This project is about a brand that will continue to grow, but I have obligations that I must fulfill to the Sacramento Kings and their loyal fan base. They deserve all of my attention.
— De’Aaron Fox (@swipathefox) February 24, 2022
As I stated previously, I look forward to doing this again the right way and adding value to my NFT holders. I’m excited to learn from the entire NFT community as well. The project will be updated at the conclusion of the NBA season.
— De’Aaron Fox (@swipathefox) February 24, 2022
The optics are undeniably bad here. Fox decided to shut down the project after they sold $1.5 million worth of NFTs. No wonder people are calling this rug pull a scam. For what it’s worth, Fox has reportedly offered to “compensate” disgruntled stakeholders by giving each of them a signed jersey, which currently retails at around $100 online. However, this is only applicable for buyers who purchased at least five NFTs, which would have cost roughly $1,300. The value of the NFT has since tanked and that same purchase of five SwipaTheFox NFTs now has a total value of approximately $40.
The project, which launched on January 15th, had an extensive roadmap that promised “a metaverse basketball court, a scholarship to a University of Kentucky student, and chances to win all-star game tickets, as well as ‘much more to come.’ Unfortunately, none of these have come to fruition — at least in the short term.
