USA Today via Reuters

Miami Heat‘s longtime coach Erik Spoelstra and his wife Nikki Sapp announced their divorce in November 2023. The two were married for seven years before their separation; they broke the news through a joint statement, affirming their commitment to co-parenting their three children. Even though the reasons for the divorce are unclear, it appears that they parted ways on good terms.

However, this did not mean they were safe from online trolling, particularly on Nikki’s end. It threw her open to thousands of troll comments, especially after Coach Spo landed a lucrative $120 million contract extension with the Heat. Overwhelmed by the online bullying, Nikki finally breaks her silence on Instagram.

Nikki shared three pictures in her recent post. Two pictures of her sandwiched an image quote that read, “This chapter is about being difficult and bravely stepping into the unknown, for you know exactly- what you deserve.” Then she penned down a long message in the caption that seemed to address the issues she has been going through.

A part of the message says, “I’m grateful for my life, my kids, my FAMILY, my health, my kids’ health (thank Gd), my sobriety, and all of my past/present/future experiences. Even the tough ones. There’s beauty in those too. And I’m grateful. And I’m still smiling. Bc peace is the bag.”

“It’s been an interesting couple of days,” she wrote. Nikki opens up about the oddity and terror of having been the target of strangers’ opinions about something very private. She finds it hurtful to see how harsh the “keyboard warriors” can be, making snap judgments and conclusions about the morality and character of someone based on loose information. Nikki adds that if one can’t be kind, then one shouldn’t say anything at all. Through it all, she is grateful for the love and support she received from her family.

How did the trolling begin?

Coach Spo was serving the final season of his previous contract when the Heat offered a jaw-dropping $120 million eight-year contract extension. The veteran coach signed the deal on Tuesday, making him the highest-paid coach in the NBA. With the ink on the contract barely dry, netizens and critics alike started to make fun of Nikki, claiming she passed up a great opportunity by letting go of Erik before his deal.

The mother of three gave a piece of her mind on the matter through an Instagram story. However, as per her latest post, we can see that Nikki has found her peace and she deserves it more than anyone else right now.