PJ: 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 (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.
I always thought Pat had this really nice vibe with his guys. But something happened there where it broke down. I do know LeBron likes special treatment.
He needs things his way.
After Tuesday practise James responded saying
“I had nothing but respect for him as a coach for what he was able to do,”
“Obviously he was at the helm of my favorite player of all time, MJ, and also being there growing up and watching him with the Lakers, but I got nothing for him.
“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 said. “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.”
And one of the “posse” Maverick Carter, a business partner of James spoke to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin saying:
“I don’t care that he talks about LeBron,”
“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.”
Do you think the comments were as bad as LeBron is making them out to be? Were there racial undertones to the context and word use? What do you think?
Thanks to MSN for the story details: http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nba/lebron-james-i’ve-lost-respect-for-phil-jackson-after-recent-comments/
0 Comments