Basketball Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen has accused his former coach Phil Jackson of being racist.
Pippen made the claims during an appearance on Monday night’s "Dan Patrick Show" during which he discussed comments he made during an interview with GQ earlier this year. The topic came about when Pippen was asked about the playoff game between the Bulls and Knicks in 1994, when Pippen infamously refused to come out a timeout in protest to Jackson's decision to draw Bulls' last-second play for then-rookie Toni Kukoč instead of him. The score was tied at 102 at the time and there were just 1.8 seconds remaining on the clock, Sports Illustrated noted.
"I felt like it was an opportunity to give (Kukoč) a rise," Pippen told GQ. "It was a racial move to give him a rise. After all I’ve been through with this organization, now you're gonna tell me to take the ball out and throw it to Toni Kukoč? You’re insulting me."
Pippen doubled down on his statements on Monday, when asked what he meant by his "racial" comment.
"Why would Toni, who's a rookie, get the last-second shot and you put me out of bounds? That's what I mean racial," Pippen said. "That was Scottie Pippen's team. Scottie Pippen was on pace to be an MVP that year, right? OK, well, why would you put him in a position not to be successful? Why wouldn't you put him in a position to succeed?" he added.
"By saying 'a racial move,' then you're calling Phil a racist," Patrick replied.
"I don't got a problem with that," Pippen said.
"Do you think was, or is [racist]" Patrick asked directly.
"Oh, yeah," Pippen replied. "Do you remember Phil Jackson left the Lakers, went (and) wrote a book on Kobe Bryant, and then came back and coached him? I mean, who would do that? You name someone in professional sports that would do that."
Pippen was referring to "The Last Season," which Jackson published in 2004, after leaving the Lakers. He was critical of Bryant, who he had coached, and detailed tensions that engulfed the locker room. The following year Jackson returned to coach the team, and Bryant.
"And you're [Jackson], who sits in the locker room and tells the players 'this is a circle, and everything stays within the circle because that's what team is about,'" Pippen continued. "But you as a head coach open it up and now you go out and try to belittle — at that time probably one of the greatest players in the game."
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