During an interview with Espn’s Jackie MacMullan, Phil Jackson voiced his opinion about the Miami Heat and what caused them to be in this situation.
“It had to hurt when they lost LeBron. That was definitely a slap in the face. But there were a lot of little things that came out of that. When LeBron was playing with the Heat, they went to Cleveland and he wanted to spend the night. They don’t do overnights. Teams just don’t. So now (head coach Erik) Spoelstra has to text Riley and say, ‘What do I do in this situation?’ And Pat, who has iron-fist rules, answers, ‘You are on the plane, you are with this team.’ You can’t hold up the whole team because you and your mom and your posse want to spend an extra night in Cleveland.”
Jackson who is known to stay to himself, and to stay out of the limelight really offended some people by his “posse” comment, when referring to LeBron James and his friends. James long time business manager Maverick Carter, took his frustrations to Twitter stating that he was offended by the word.
All the hard work,effort and achievement and @PhilJackson11 still calls us a "posse"every step you take they remind you, you ghetto" @S_C_ pic.twitter.com/OPsPvAvFoM
— Maverick Carter (@mavcarter) November 14, 2016
Maverick was interviewed by ESPN elaborating on the situation and how he felt about the word. “I don’t care that he talks about LeBron,”says Maverick. “He could say he’s not that good or the greatest in the world as a basketball player. I wouldn’t care. It’s the word ‘posse’ and the characterization I take offense to. If he would have said LeBron and his agent, LeBron and his business partners or LeBron and his friends, that’s one thing. Yet because you’re young and black, he can use that word. We’re grown men.”
LeBron James steps in to defend himself and backs up his his long time friend. “To use that label, and if you go and read the definition of what the word ‘posse’ is, it’s not what I’ve built over my career,” James told reporters in Cleveland. “It’s not what I stand for. It’s not what my family stands for. And I believe the only reason he used that word is because it’s young African-Americans trying to make a difference.”
It’s unknown if Jackson knew the exact definition of the word “posse” or if he knew that he would offend anyone. From his reputation around the league we can only assume that he didn’t know what the word really meant. But we can’t make an excuse for him not knowing the definition of “posse.”
Carmelo Anthony even voiced his opinion on the situation. “I just don’t understand him talking about LeBron right now, in November. I don’t understand that.”
Anthony made a great point. The Knicks are struggling, and have their own problems to face. There’s no reason to be speaking about LeBron this early in the season.
Only time will tell if Jackson decides to make a statement and apologize about his comments.
