Kevin Durant agrees with LeBron James—Phil Jackson goofed with his silly “posse” comments about James’ partners.
For those out of the loop on this one, the Knicks’ president decided to comment about James leaving the Miami Heat. In the process, he dropped a line calling James’ business partners a “posse” and James responded by suggesting the comments stem from racism.
Durant recently talked about Jackson’s comments with ESPN.com’s Chris Haynes:
I see why LeBron took offense to it. He doesn’t just work on the basketball court; he puts his work in [off of it as well]. He’s trying to set himself, his kids, his kid’s kids up forever. So doing it for 10-plus years, to not associate what he’s done with being an empire, I understand why he took offense to it.
Durant made a point to stress he doesn’t think Jackson is a racist. But like many, he understands why the comments had a negative reception:
I don’t think Phil is racist. I think he just used a bad word, and he shouldn’t be talking about other players anyway on another team. But I don’t think Phil, I don’t think he meant it in a bad way, but it sounds like a downgrade to what they really are. I understand why [LeBron] was upset.
Though Durant won’t be the last notable name to get asked about the situation, the lesson here is simple—Jackson and others need to be more careful in how they address players and their actions. And rest assured Jackson will think twice before commenting on someone outside his organization again.
Jackson has yet to comment on the situation.
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