With the Cleveland Cavaliers set to take on the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden Wednesday night, some have wondered if an awkward conversation between LeBron James and Phil Jackson is forthcoming. But even if Jackson wants to chat, LeBron has nothing to say to him.
Jackson suddenly got on LeBron’s bad side last month when the Knicks president referred to LeBron’s friends and business partners as his “posse.” When asked on Monday if he would speak with Jackson this week, James bluntly said “no.” He then opened up some more about Jackson’s remark.
“Didn’t affect me, just know how much further we still have to go and how far we still have to go as African-Americans, even in the light of today,” LeBron said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. “For me, I’ve built my career on and off the floor on the utmost respect, and I’ve always given the utmost respect to everyone — all my peers, people that’s laid the path for me and laid the path for coaches, players, things of that nature.
“I’ve always given respect to them, and it’s always, like I told you before, it’s always shade thrown on me, so. It means we got a lot more work to do, myself and the team. We’ve got to continue to protect each other and continue to just be as great as we can be.”
Jackson angered both LeBron and LeBron’s business partner, Maverick Carter, when he he was speaking about the relationship between James and Pat Riley. Jackson said there was one time when the Miami Heat were in Cleveland and LeBron wanted to spend an extra night there with his mom and “posse.” You can read the full comments here.
While James never had a problem with Jackson before that, he said he has since lost respect for the 11-time NBA champion. And if the tweet Jackson sent after he was blasted is any indication, he has no interest in apologizing. Phil probably wants to meet with LeBron as much as LeBron wants to meet with him.
