Jerry West might not want to hold his breath waiting on an apology from HBO … ’cause the network is defending the controversial ‘Winning Time’ show and standing firmly with its “talented creators.” The show has been under serious scrutiny since it debuted in March — with Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and, most recently, Jerry West, completely trashing the validity of what happens in each episode … claiming a lot of it is straight-up not true. But, HBO — which had previously stayed silent on the public outcry — released a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday .