Arguably Australia’s biggest basketball agent, Daniel Moldovan, has reportedly been sacked from prominent management company Octagon over a social media post.
Moldovan, who is the manager of under-fire Aussie NBA star Josh Giddey, among others including the Sacramento Kings’ Davion Mitchell, New Orleans’ Dyson Daniels and Boomers star Aron Baynes, was reportedly stood down over a social media post.
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However, while the Giddey allegations have been dominating the Australian NBA coverage over the past week, former writer for The Athletic Ethan Sherwood Strauss reported that the reason behind the move was over an Instagram post attacking a Black Lives Matter post supporting the October 7 Hamas massacre in Israel.
Newscorp have reported the post was in relation to a post from a Black Lives Matter chapter in Chicago, which shared an image of a paraglider with a Palestinian flag and a caption reading: “I stand with Palestine.”
Moldovan, a modern Orthodox Jew, replied to the post on Instagram, writing: “72 hours after terrorists’ paraglided into a music festival and slaughtered 260 young people. This is how BLM chose to symbolise where their support lies. F*** BLM and anyone who supports them.”
The Instagram post has since been deleted.
Newscorp are also reporting that Moldovan will remain Giddey’s manager despite the separation from Octagon.
News.com.au have contacted Octagon for comment but the company has provided a statement to The Athletic.
“Octagon became aware that Daniel Moldovan made divisive, disparaging and corrosive remarks that do not represent our values or what we stand for,” the statement read, via the Herald Sun.
“We immediately launched an investigation into the reported incident. It was determined that Daniel’s comments and actions were a gross violation of our policies that are in place to protect the longstanding integrity of the company, its employees and clients, and we promptly terminated his employment.”
The news comes as the NBA and Newport Beach police department launch investigations into the allegations levelled against Giddey.
The allegations of the 21-year-old having an inappropriate relationship with a minor first arose via an anonymous social media post last Thursday, which has since been deleted.
On Thursday morning (AEDT), Newport Beach Police Department issued a statement confirming it is looking into the allegations.
Giddey has not been charged with any offence.
“The Newport Beach Police Department is aware of information being circulated online involving an alleged relationship between professional basketball player Josh Giddey and a female minor,” the statement read.
“The Newport Beach Police Department is actively seeking additional information related to these allegations and pursuing all leads and evidence to obtain the facts of the case.
“The Newport Beach Police Department aims to ensure a fair and thorough investigative process while maintaining the privacy and dignity of everyone involved. At this time, NBPD Detectives are still conducting an active investigation.”
The investigation has reportedly hit a major hurdle, however, as police work to gather further information.
TMZ Sports is reporting that the “alleged minor and her are family refusing to co-operate with officials” and that law enforcement officials have tried to gather further information relating to social media claims surrounding Giddey, but at the moment “no one is talking”.
The NBA has also confirmed to news.com.au they are “looking into” the matter.
Allegations against Giddey first emerged when pictures and videos were posted to social media featuring Giddey with a young woman.
One of the images is of a shirtless Giddey standing behind the woman.
The Aussie was asked about the allegations following a team practice session on Saturday, but refused to provide any further information.
“I understand the question obviously, but there’s no further comment right now,” Giddey said.
Asked about the matter again, he said: “I get the question guys. I completely understand you guys wanna know about it. But just for right now, I don’t have anything to say.”
The ongoing investigation has seen Weet-Bix remove all traces of Giddey from their social media channels.
But Sanitarium explained the reason he was removed was in a bid to “minimise opportunities for negative commentary towards Josh while the NBA is looking into the current situation”.
Giddey, born and raised in Melbourne, burst onto the scene as part of the NBL’s Next Stars program which put him on the radar of NBA scouts.
In April 2021 he became the youngest Australian in NBL history to record a triple-double while playing with the Adelaide 36ers.
His career exploded after he was taken with the sixth overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder. The first round draft selection saw him put pen to paper on a four-year deal worth $41m.
Proving his feats in the NBL were no fluke, Giddey became the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double on January 2, 2022 when he was just over 19 years old.
His first year in the league saw him claim the Western Conference rookie of the month four times before he succumbed to injury in the later stages of the season.
Giddey missed out on selection for the Australian Boomers squad for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, being selected as one of three emergency players.
He represented Australia at the 2023 FIBA World Cup where he finished the tournament with averages of 19.4 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists.
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