Phil Jackson is widely regarded as one of the best coaches in basketball history. Thanks to his brilliant mind and ability to handle and deal with big personalities, he holds an NBA-record 11 Championship rings.
But Phil has come under fire lately for making some rather outlandish and bizarre comments about the state of the game.
After Scottie Pippen called him a racist in a recent interview, fans dug up an old comment he made about Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony…
— ✌🏽 (@MrDaeeDaee) June 28, 2021
Here’s the clip that started it all — Pippen calling his old coach a racist on “The Dan Patrick Show.”
DP: ".. By saying it was a racial move then you're calling Phil Jackson a racist…"
Pippen: "I don't have a problem with that."
DP: "Do you think Phil was?"
Pippen: "Oh yeah…"
Exchange with @ScottiePippen on Phil's decision to have Kukoc take final shot against the Knicks pic.twitter.com/pH2aDLMDcQ
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) June 28, 2021
Obviously, this is pretty alarming for any basketball fan. The fact that a guy who played such an important role for two of the best teams in league history might be a racist is rather shocking, to say the least. Still, many weren’t sure how to respond or even whether or not to believe the narrative being spread about the legend:
Scottie Pippen: “Phil Jackson a racist”
Phil: pic.twitter.com/hSJsqh7lJx
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) June 28, 2021
https://twitter.com/DavidDTSS/status/1409549485756256258
Lmao damn, Scottie Pippen was right that Phil Jackson is a racist pic.twitter.com/UZVksvw2zo
— Xin Varlock (@XinNBA) June 28, 2021
Scottie Pippen when Phil Jackson had him inbounding the ball for Toni Kukoc to take the last shot. pic.twitter.com/OaC43VbjAJ
— Black Panther (@HoustonSprtsGod) June 28, 2021
It’s a pretty murky situation, and Phil has been out of the NBA spotlight for years now.
But conversations will persist over the next few days and beyond, especially as the community takes a hard look at the culture within the league and what other things they may have missed.
