New Lakers head coach JJ Redick could have lost his coaching career before it ever started, as a woman named Halleemah Nash accused Redick of using the N-word to her face when they were at Duke University.
“I’ve only been called the N-word to my face by a white man once in my life and it was on the campus of Duke University while I was doing work with the basketball team. And today he was named the new head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. What a world.”
Redick’s team was quick to shut this allegation down, telling TMZ Sports that these claims were entirely untrue.
“No, it never happened.”
This is not an accusation Redick or the Lakers can take lightly. It will be impossible for Nash to come up with concrete evidence of Redick using the word in public, which means it’ll be her word against his. There have been no incidents like this in Redick’s entire career, so fans are giving home the benefit of the doubt for now.
If this somehow ends up being true, the Lakers will likely have to take serious action against Redick. The timing of the accusation is interesting as well, with this not being brought up when Redick was playing in the NBA and when he was a national TV analyst for ESPN and a commentator for the NBA Finals.
JJ Redick Says LeBron James Didn’t Play A Role In His Hiring
JJ Redick has been the Lakers’ leading contender for the head coaching vacancy for the longest time, outside the franchise’s weekend-long flirtation with UConn Huskies coach Dan Hurley. Many have assumed that Redick was a big name in the Lakers’ coaching hunt because of his relationship with franchise superstar LeBron James.
LeBron and Redick started a podcast together last season, which people thought played a role in Redick getting the Lakers job. The new head coach made it clear in his introductory press conference that he and LeBron didn’t speak on the coaching opportunity until JJ had agreed to join.
“He didn’t provide any advice. LeBron and I didn’t talk about the Lakers job until Thursday evening, about 30 minutes after I was offered the job. That was very intentional on both our parts. I had an understanding that he didn’t want to be involved in this and for me, I don’t wanna go down the path of hypotheticals with someone that I consider a friend and have a great amount of respect for. For us, it came down to Thursday afternoon, we talked for 15-20 minutes, got off the phone, and that’s it.”
Redick needs to keep LeBron happy. The team will likely feature Anthony Davis as the No. 1 option, something James is completely okay with. It’ll be a balancing act for Redick, who will look to manage two of the biggest egos in the league while trying to help the Lakers return to the top of the West.
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