Former St Kilda forward Justin Koschitzke says he has a “lifelong” friendship with Australian basketball legend Lauren Jackson.
The pair were recently spotted at a Melbourne United game, prompting a Herald Sun article that questioned whether the retired athletes were in a romantic relationship.
Speaking on SEN WA, Koschitzke says he’s simply one of Jackson’s friends and explained how he ended up next to perhaps Australia’s greatest-ever basketballer at John Cain Arena earlier this month.
“No there’s nothing going on, if you’re referring to being at the basketball with Lauren Jackson,” Koschitzke said.
“We grew up in Albury together, so we’re lifelong friends and she asked me to come along to the basketball.
“I’ll never forgive her, she goes, ‘Do you want to come to the basketball with me?’, I said, ‘No worries, let’s go and have a look at that’.
“She said, ‘I’ve got to speak at an event, do you want to go to that?’, I said, ‘Yep, no worries, I’ll just have a couple of brews in the corner and sit up behind the glass and watch the game’.
“Then 10 minutes before the ball is thrown up, one of the Melbourne United officials came to wheel us down … we’re sitting under the net, basically on the court and then the TV producer comes up and says, ‘At the first time out we’re going to put the camera on you and the crowd want to give you a bit of an ovation’.
“I got up and thought, ‘I’m out of here’, but she grabbed my arm and said, ‘If I’m going to be embarrassed, you’re going to sit here with me’ … the camera is there, I didn’t know what to do, I just sat there and clapped.”
The rumour grew further legs when the pair were again photographed, this time at St Kilda’s Danny Frawley Centre for health and wellbeing – where Koschitzke works at the club’s Moorabbin headquarters.
The former forward says her appearance at the club came about as he and businessman Gerry Ryan hope to get her involved at the Frawley Centre as an ambassador for mental health.
“Absolutely nothing going on, it was social gathering,” Koschitzke explained.
“She’s hopefully going to become an ambassador for the Danny Frawley Centre, she’s a very good advocate for mental health and hopefully we can get that over the line.
“She also plays now for the Southside Flyers who are owned by Gerry Ryan who is a good Saints man.
“He has had a lot to do with building the Frawley Centre, that’s the reason she was at the Frawley Centre and that’s about it.”
While Jackson is set to continue with the Flyers in the WNBL, she officially retired from international basketball after winning the bronze medal with the Opals at last month’s FIBA World Cup.
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