Watch Stephen A. Smith Blast ‘Highly Disrespectful’ Phil Jackson Over LeBron James ‘Posse’ Comment

On Tuesday, LeBron James criticized Phil Jackson for using the term “posse” to describe several of his business associates, believing that his choice of words was racially motivated.

Wednesday on First Take Stephen A. Smith came out strongly in favor of James’s position, and said that he took offense to Jackson’s use of the term.

“Phil Jackson deserves a diminished level of respect this morning, let’s be clear,” Smith said.

“Phil Jackson is not a racist,” Smith said. But he added, “I certainly haven’t heard Phil Jackson alluding to anybody, any white ball players, as having a posse.”

Speaking about James, Smith added:

We see a 31-year-old individual who has rebuilt downtown Cleveland not once, but twice, whose philanthropy can’t be questioned. Who’s facilitating thousands of kids receiving an education and beyond because of the millions upon millions of dollars he, through his foundation, have poured into those efforts. This man is the quintessential iconic sports role model that we have seen maybe ever. And for Phil Jackson to talk about him and a crew of individuals the way that they do, I take offense to that.

Jackson’s only response thus far is a retweet of Knicks executive Clarence Gaines saluting the Posse Foundation, a charitable organization geared towards helping students in urban high schools excel.

‘@possefoundation is a worthy & positive organization – https://t.co/dFpgN7F7EF

— Clarence Gaines (@ClarenceGaines2) November 15, 2016

Watch above, via ESPN2.

[image via screengrab]

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