NBA Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson has some words of wisdom for National Basketball Association executives and athletes who are determined to insert their ‘Woke’ politics into the beloved game.
Leave if off the court.
Phil Jackson says the ‘BLM’ slogans the NBA promoted during the 2020 ‘bubble’ year turned him off from professional basketball for good, according to a report from TMZ.
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In a new interview, the former NBA player and Hall-of-Fame coach said that he doesn’t like basketball’s evolution and can’t even bring himself to watch anymore. Jackson also said he thought the Bubble and political slogans on jerseys was ‘wanky’ and he made fun of it all with his grandchildren. Listen below:
Phil Jackson said: “They did something that was kind of wanky, they did a bubble down in Orlando and all the teams that could qualify went down there and stayed down there.”
“And they had things on their back like, ‘Justice.’ They made a funny thing like, ‘Justice just went to the basket and Equal Opportunity just knocked him down’,” he continued.
“So my grandkids thought that was pretty funny to play up those names,” he added. “So I couldn’t watch 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 went on.
“People want to see sports as non-political. Politics stays out of the game; it doesn’t need to be there.”
Further context on the 2020 ‘bubble’ year was provided by USA Today:
The NBA had “Black Lives Matter” on the courts in the bubble, allowed players to kneel during the national anthem and offered them the opportunity to choose a social justice message for their nameplate.
Jayson Tatum, Pascal Siakam, Russell Westbrook and Tyler Herro wore “Black Lives Matter” on their jerseys. Zion Williamson and Carmelo Anthony chose “Peace” and Damian Lillard chose “How Many More” to go along with his No. 0 to plead that no more names would become hashtags as victims of racially-charged violence.
Lebron James, superstar player and NBA champion, has become the face of the league’s “Woke” politics. In an interview in 2018, James took a shot at then President Donald Trump.
“The number one job in America … is someone who doesn’t understand the people, and really don’t give a f–k about the people,” James said in a video alongside fellow NBA All-Star Kevin Durant.
James famously caught flack from conservative Fox News host Laura Ingraham, who told him to ‘shut up and dribble.”
