Legendary coach Phil Jackson has some words of wisdom for National Basketball Association executives and athletes who want to insert their “Woke” policy into the beloved game.
Exit if off track.
Phil Jackson says the “BLM” slogans the NBA promoted during the 2020 “bubble” year turned him away from professional basketball for good, according to a TMZ report.
Phil Jackson says the “BLM” slogans the NBA publicly adopted during the 2020 bubble year turned him away from professional basketball for good, comments you can now hear in full context. https://t.co/zzj072bEVV
— TMZ (@TMZ) April 22, 2023
In a new interview, the former NBA player and Hall of Fame coach said he “doesn’t like the evolution of basketball and doesn’t watch anymore, he thought the Bubble slogans and politicians on the shirts were “outstanding” and mocked it. with his grandchildren.” Listen below:
Phil Jackson says he doesn’t like the evolution of basketball and doesn’t watch anymore, thought the bubble and political slogans on the jerseys were “cheesy” and made fun of them with his grandchildren.
was listening to his new interview with Rick Rubin and thought it was interesting. pic.twitter.com/FVBpdnuCFj
— Clique Productions (@ImClique_) April 20, 2023
Phil Jackson said: “They did something that was kind of nasty, they made a bubble in Orlando and every team that could qualify went there and stayed there.”
“And they had stuff on the back like, ‘Justice.’ They did a funny thing like, ‘Justice just went to the basket and Equal Opportunity knocked him down,'” he continued.
“So my grandchildren thought it was pretty funny to reproduce those names,” he added. “So I didn’t get to see that.”
“It was trying to cater to an audience or trying to bring a certain audience to the game and they didn’t know it was turning other people off,” he continued.
“People want to see sport as non-political. Politics is kept out of the game; it doesn’t need to be there.”
USA Today provided additional context on the year of the “bubble” 2020:
The NBA had “Black Lives Matter” on the courts in the bubble, allowed players to kneel during the national anthem and offered them the chance to choose a social justice message for their plaque.
Jayson Tatum, Pascal Siakam, Russell Westbrook and Tyler Herro wore “Black Lives Matter” on their shirts. Zion Williamson and Carmelo Anthony chose “Peace” and Damian Lillard chose “How Many More” to accompany his #0 to ask that no more names become hashtags as victims of racial violence.
NBA superstar and champion Lebron James has become the face of the league’s “Woke” policy. In a 2018 interview, James took a shot at then-President Donald Trump.
“The number one job in America … is someone who doesn’t understand people, and he doesn’t really care about people,” James said in a video alongside fellow NBA All-Star Kevin Durant.
James drew criticism from conservative Fox News host Laura Ingraham, who told him to “shut up and dribble.”
“It’s always unwise to ask someone who gets paid $100 million a year to throw a ball for political advice,” he said. “Keep the political comments to yourself… Shut up and bargain.”
Ingraham added that she was not interested in taking political advice from “someone who gets paid $100 million a year to throw a ball.” After the media uproar, he denied that it was any kind of “racist” whistle.
James countered that he won’t “shut up and dribble” because “I mean too much to society.”
LeBron James rejects Fox News host: ‘I’m definitely not going to shut up and dribble.’ I mean too much to society.” pic.twitter.com/qF3SqfO0ug
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) February 17, 2018
James has been both active and vocal about his politics. He is the founder of the voting rights group, More Than A Vote, whose goal is to raise funds to help Florida people with felony records pay off outstanding court debt so they can vote (for Democrats) in elections.
During the height of the controversy surrounding the Golden State Warriors’ decision to skip the traditional visit to the White House as NBA champions, LeBron James made his disdain for President Donald Trump clear. By referring to Trump as a “wanderer,” James further fueled the already heated debate over the Warriors’ stance and added another chapter to the ongoing saga between professional athletes and the Trump administration.
In October 2016, James officially endorsed Hillary Clinton for the 2016 presidential election ahead of her hometown visit to Akron, Ohio.
In September 2017, James suggested that people who voted for President Trump “made a mistake” or lacked “education” when casting their ballots, according to the NBA.
“At the end of the day, I don’t think a lot of people have been educated,” he said. “And I think this is one of the biggest problems we have. When it comes time to vote, people are not educated about the individual or what is happening in the state of the world right now. … I don’t think a lot of people are polite and make choices and say things that aren’t polite.”
James’ on-court activism dates back to at least 2014, when he was seen wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “I Can’t Breathe” in place of his jersey during a Cavalier game in December 2014. He was a reference to Eric Garner’s last words saying “I can’t breathe” before succumbing to medical ailments brought on by a physical altercation with the NYPD.
Former President Barack Obama praised LeBron James in an interview with PEOPLE for wearing the jersey. He added that more sports stars should use their influence to address social issues.
“You know, I think LeBron did the right thing,” Obama said. “We forget the role that Muhammad Ali, Arthur Ashe and Bill Russell played in raising awareness.”
“We spent a long stretch there [with] well-paid athletes, the idea was, shut up and get your endorsements and don’t make waves,” Obama said. “LeBron is an example of a young man who, in his own way and in a respectful way, has tried to say, ‘I am also part of this society’ and focus attention”.
Lebron James’ political activism contrasts with the low-key approach on and off the court of legendary NBA champion Michael Jordan, someone his former coach Phil Jackson knows well.
“Republicans buy sneakers, too,” Jordan said.
In the hit documentary “The Last Dance,” the iconic Jordan was pressed to change his statement.
“I don’t think that statement should be corrected because I said it as a joke on a bus with Horace Grant and Scottie Pippen,” Jordan said. “It was thrown off the cuff. My mom asked me to do a PSA on Harvey Gantt and I said, ‘Look, Mom, I’m not talking out of someone’s pocket that I don’t know.’ But I’m going to send a contribution to give- I support him.’ That’s what I did.”
“I commend Muhammad Ali for standing up for what he believed in. But I never thought of myself as an activist. I thought of myself as a basketball player,” he added.
“I wasn’t a politician when I played my sport,” he continued. “I was focused on my craft. Was it selfish? Probably. But that was my energy. That’s where my energy was.”
It seems Michael Jordan and his former coach Phil Jackson are on the same page when it comes to sports politics, as much as they were on the basketball court when they won six NBA championships together.
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OPINION: This article contains comments that reflect the opinion of the author.
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