“I Had Nothing Against BLM”: Weeks After Causing Turmoil, 11x NBA Champion Coach Goes Back to His Controversial Take

The 2020 NBA Bubble was a unique event in league history. Not only were the games being played behind closed doors owing to the pandemic, but there was a lot of activism going around in the league during that time. Out of all the issues that were being brought forth, the Black Lives Matter movement took the league and the world by storm. However, there were people who criticized the league authorities and players for politicizing the sport. One of them happens to be legendary basketball coach Phil Jackson. The 77-year-old faced a lot of flak for his comments, but the 11x NBA championship-winning coach has now cleared the air.

The former Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls coach was all over the news a few weeks ago. He made some shocking claims about the 2020 NBA Bubble, which invited some criticism.

Hall of Fame coach sets the record straight after a major controversy

The 2020-21 NBA season was a unique season for many reasons. The league and players regularly shed light on issues crippling society. Naturally, this brought in a lot of support while people also bashed the league. A few weeks ago, Phil Jackson joined Rick Rubin’s podcast. During a segment of the podcast, Jackson asserted that he couldn’t watch the games because of the amount of activism and politics.

This segment of the podcast went viral across the internet. As a result, the former Lakers and Bulls coach faced a lot of flak. Jackson once again made an appearance on Stacey King’s Podcast a few days ago.

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When asked to comment on his statements, the veteran coach asserted that he is not against BLM and what it stands for. However, some of the NBA’s decisions shocked him. Jackson said, “I had nothing against BLM or the cause that was behind it. But the humorous nature of going completely woke by the NBA, really was like, it’s pretty hard to watch.”

Interestingly, this wasn’t the first time Jackson shared some polarizing views. He had once raised eyebrows with his opinions about rap music. According to Jackson, the players had a limited attention span owing to the kind of music they listen to.

“They have a limitation of their attention span, a lot of it probably due to too much rap music going in their ears and coming out their being,” said Jackson. Despite all such controversies, there is no denying that Phil Jackson is one of the greatest coaches ever. Having coached the likes of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O’Neal, Jackson has left a huge impact on the league.

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What do you think about Jackson’s statements? Let us know in the comments below.