New York Knicks President Phil Jackson recently sat down with ESPN's Jackie MacMullan for an interview in which they discussed a wide range of topics, including some thoughts about his peers like Pat Riley and Gregg Popovich.
In discussing Riley, the conversation shifted towards LeBron's decision to leave the Miami Heat and go back to Cleveland. That's when Jackson said that LeBron likes "special treatment" and referred to his longtime friends, who are now his business partners, as his "posse."
Those comments did not sit well with Maverick Carter, LeBron's well known business partner, who tweeted out the definition of posse in a post that read, "All the hard work, effort and achievement and @PhilJackson11 still calls us a "posse"every step you take they remind you, you ghetto" @S_C."
He later expanded on his comments to ESPN's Dave McMenamin:
"I don't care that he talks about LeBron," Maverick Carter told ESPN.com. "He could say he's not that good or the greatest in the world as a basketball player. I wouldn't care. It's the word 'posse' and the characterization I take offense to. If he would have said LeBron and his agent, LeBron and his business partners or LeBron and his friends, that's one thing. Yet because you're young and black, he can use that word. We're grown men."
Check out Phil's comments about LeBron below, followed by Maverick Carter's response.
JM: It all started when LeBron left, right? Could you have ever imagined Earvin Johnson leaving Riley, or Michael Jordan leaving you?
PJ: It had to hurt when they lost LeBron. That was definitely a slap in the face. But there were a lot of little things that came out of that. 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. So now (coach Erik) Spoelstra has to text Riley and say, 'What do I do in this situation?' And Pat, who has iron-fist rules, answers, 'You are on the plane, you are with this team.' You can't hold up the whole team because you and your mom and your posse want to spend an extra night in Cleveland.
I always thought Pat had this really nice vibe with his guys. But something happened there where it broke down. I do know LeBron likes special treatment. He needs things his way.
[Via]