As he continues to double and triple down on his recent comments, Kendrick Perkins now finds himself beefing with a well-known ex-coach.
Perkins, the retired former center who is now an analyst for ESPN, made some controversial remarks this month in which he used race to argue that Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic should not win another MVP this season. Those comments were met with strong backlash, but Perkins vehemently stood by his take. In a tweet on Tuesday, Perkins wrote, “A Speaker of TRUTH has no friends!!!”
A Speaker of TRUTH has no friends!!!
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) March 7, 2023
That led to a response from former Coach of the Year George Karl. A head coach in the league for 27 seasons, Karl wrote, “Untrue @KendrickPerkins cause honest educated people respect Truth. Also don’t forget that Truth is about facts not casual opinions.”
Untrue @KendrickPerkins cause honest educated people respect Truth
Also don’t forget that Truth is about facts not casual opinions https://t.co/EkjxYU3UHN
— George Karl (@CoachKarl22) March 7, 2023
Something about that seemingly harmless message from Karl really rubbed Perkins the wrong way. He tweeted back, questioning why Karl “of all people” was saying something. Perkins also called Karl out for having “skeletons” in his closet.
.@CoachKarl22 do you of all people want to go there today? Because I definitely have time homeboy. YOU most definitely have a few Skeletons in your damn closet. https://t.co/QUGSL6EHDv
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) March 7, 2023
Karl then responded again, tweeting that he has been talking truth since Perkins was “in diapers.” He then said that Jokic is deserving of another MVP award and that race has nothing do with the argument.
Go where @KendrickPerkins? I was talking truth when u were in diapers. Coach Dean Smith introduced me to it and I’ve lived it since.
The truth here is the MVP voters aren’t racist, Jokic is gonna win it again cause he deserves it and u still owe me dinner from the Bubble 🙂 https://t.co/acPpTwQ1kg
— George Karl (@CoachKarl22) March 7, 2023
The 71-year-old Karl is far from the only notable figure to speak out against Perkins’ take. In an episode of ESPN’s “First Take” on Tuesday, JJ Redick unloaded on Perkins to his face over the comments.
“What we just witnessed is the problem with this show. Where we create narratives that do not exist in reality.”
JJ Redick went in on Kendrick Perkins and First Take for insinuating NBA MVP voters have racial bias against black players 😳pic.twitter.com/Zvu6e6l2fA
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) March 7, 2023
If Perkins was trying to get attention with his questionable remarks, he has certainly succeeded. Karl, meanwhile, often likes attention himself and has made many headlines for his inflamatory comments about current players.
