#360USA: Jackson’s ‘posse’ dig dumb but not racist

Steve Brenner 07:00 22/11/2016
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  • Taking offence: LeBron James.

    Phil Jackson may have an NBA degree, yet he’s bottom of the class when it comes to thinking before talking. And, with LeBron James, the man caught in this unseemly and woefully timed spat, the temperature has risen – right up to burning hot.

    In what was supposed to be an innocuous interview with ESPN, Jackson fanned the flames of a fire he’s now desperately trying to extinguish. Mulling over the problems the Miami Heat front office endured when Dwyane Wade left for the Chicago Bulls this summer, the Knicks’ current president treated us all to this gem.

    “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,” he said. “So now (coach Erik) Spoelstra has to text (president) Pat Riley and say, ‘What do I do in this situation?’

    “You can’t hold up the whole team because you and your mom and your posse want to spend an extra night in Cleveland.”

    Where to begin? Firstly, why is the head of the Knicks franchise talking so openly, and disparagingly, about another team’s player?

    Jackson is under extreme pressure in New York to deliver following three tepid campaigns. His fabled triangle offense continues to stink. The Knicks are no closer to looking like play-off material. But the insinuation that the four-time NBA winner and biggest sports star in the U.S. strolls around town with a ‘posse’ was too much for many to bear.

    Just to be clear, the dictionary definition is thus: A body of men, typically armed, summoned by the sheriff to enforce the law.

    Of course, it can be construed in various ways. And yes, James is being a bit touchy. Yet, in these highly sensitised times following Donald Trump’s tragi-comedic rise to power, even the merest accusation of African-American athletes, albeit ultra famous ones, operating in a gang is controversial in the extreme.

    Now, I don’t believe Jackson’s comments were racist. Calculating? Certainly. He didn’t set out to disparage the Black community. Yet, what this (supposedly) highly intellectual man did, however, was make a horrifically poor word choice which can be construed by people queuing up to jump upon a multitude of political bandwagons.

    Sending out a link to the Posse Foundation, a multi-cultural educational establishment, didn’t ease the anger.

    “It sucks that the title for young African-Americans is the word ‘posse,’ ” said James.

    While making his way in the game, questions were asked about the wisdom of friends Maverick Carter (business manager) and Rich Paul (agent) providing advisory roles concerning his off-court affairs. Neither were high-powered businessmen.

    Fast forward to today and James is one of the most marketable sports stars of all time. These guys know exactly what they’re doing. Jackson’s comments, however, suggest otherwise.

    Interestingly, this wasn’t the first time Jackson referred to James and his friends as a “posse”. In a 2004 book, The Last Season, the 71-year-old cast aspersions on the next generation of stars.

    “In the Cleveland game, I was impressed with LeBron James,” Jackson wrote. “Yet, as talented as this kid definitely appears to be, I don’t believe he or any 19-year-old should be playing in the NBA.

    “These young men grow so dependent on their posses, who fetch their cars and their girls, that they can’t possibly develop into mature self-sufficient human beings.”

    Well, 12 years later and it’s safe to say James has survived. Most of his peers have stayed afloat too. Clearly adhering to old-school principles, Jackson, like many others of his vintage, find the world of mega-star heroes today difficult to comprehend.

    The agents. The money. The bright lights and incessant razzmatazz. No, Phil. It wasn’t like that in your day.

    But, in a modern American society, which is being ripped apart at its seams, no more so than in the deprived inner cities where James is a hero to millions, we could do without these lazy insinuations.

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