Phil Jackson’s Beef With The NBA
Witch hunt?
As you all know, three times in the last six weeks Kobe Bryant has faced some kind of punishment—be it a one game suspension, or a retroactively assessed flagrant foul—from the League office. The NBA has apparently decided that they’re not big fans of Kobe using his sharp elbows to give foreign players reconstructive facial surgery.
Phil Jackson, as you might expect, is beside himself with anger. He can’t understand why the NBA is hating on his shooting guard, and went on a bit of tirade yesterday at the Lakers’ practice facility.
“It shouldn’t even have been a flagrant I,” Jackson said Tuesday. “That’s crazy. That’s a vendetta. They have a witch hunt going on. It’s nuts. Guys riding somebody. Everybody does that in this league. It’s just becoming a witch hunt now.”
“It is an after-the-fact type of thing,” Jackson said, “and that is bothersome. They have the advantage of looking at videotape.”
“We wish they would correct some of the mistakes they make in a ballgame the same way. There’s a couple of games that probably could be swung, won or lost, by some of the calls they [could] correct after the fact. But you can’t do that in the game.”
Witch hunt?
Does he have a case, or this the sound of a frustrated coach whose team has been hit with a slew of injuries and is facing a soul-crushing six game losing streak?
For now, the only thing we can be sure of is that the Zen Master will be hearing from the League office very soon.
21 Responses to “Phil Jackson’s Beef With The NBA”
Mar.14 at 4:07 pm
DBlizzy! says:
I’m glad you posted this Mutoni. I was actually visiting another forum and they were discussing this topic. I don’t feel they were as basketball saavy as our Slam audience but a few people brought up the RACE issue, pointing out the fact that the people Kobe has been caught bowing were all WHITE in complexion. So I wanted to know what everyone thinks, does race have any business in this conversation? Would Kobe elbow Ron Ron or Bowen in their grill? Has he in the past and just not been caught? Pls discuss.
Mar.14 at 4:10 pm
mutoni says:
i don’t think it’s racially motivated at all. it has more to do with WHO the person he hits is. like, he wouldn’t go after someone gully like ron artest, but probably wouldn’t be scared of clocking a dude like oh i don’t know, andre miller. basically, he’s hitting people who he knows won’t retaliate. (sorry, andre)
Mar.14 at 4:13 pm
DBlizzy! says:
And Mutoni, I’m not trying to “deebo” your post. I do think it’s somewhat of a witch hunt. I’m sure there are plenty of “dirty” plays that go on that could be spotted if every game was reviewed on videotape. So why is only Kobe getting caught? With that being said, I do think that the elbow follow thru he does has to stop and he should be punished for it. A fine after the first offense would have been the proper procedure, then if he repeats, then you suspend. The retroactive flagrant was just retarded
Mar.14 at 4:17 pm
DBlizzy! says:
I agree. I just find it amazing how naturally he flails those elbows. Whose thinking about that while shooting a jumpshot? That just shows the extreme concentration and dedication he has to his craft.
Mar.14 at 4:25 pm
Sam Rubenstein says:
Phil Jackson is going senile. First he claims that Jesus wouldn’t be able to help the Lakers, and now it’s a witchhunt. Was he joking the first time? The second time? Is he always joking?
as for Kobe’s “targets”, it would be great if he would elbow a black player in the face because the evidence is stacking against him beyond mere coincidence.
Mar.14 at 4:27 pm
Ben Couch says:
It’s a witch hunt to an extent — Kobe’s obviously got (and has had) all eyes on him — but Bryant is clearly hitting people recklessly, if not intentionally. Three times in a month or so is way too frequent to chalk up to chance. If some other “dirty” player were actually causing injury (See: Thomas, Isiah and the Bruce Bowen foot-stepper) he’d be just as demonized.
Mar.14 at 4:48 pm
Reggie Evans says:
Snitch Hunt
Mar.14 at 4:50 pm
See Bee Fore says:
Andre Miller is straight outta Compton, I’m not so sure there wouldn’t be retaliation.
Mar.14 at 5:00 pm
Max Airington says:
He’s right. Stu Jackson didnt consult the officials or the players involved, just the videotape. If he’s just going to retroactively officiate games he has to do them all. Not just Laker games.
Mar.14 at 5:01 pm
Cheryl says:
Is Raja Bell included? He claimed Kobe elbowed him all series. But he did retaliate with the clothesline, which I thought looked pretty cool on replay…
Mar.14 at 5:02 pm
Max Airington says:
And Kobe’s not afraid of anyone, but he cant fight either. Ask Chris Childs.
Mar.14 at 6:07 pm
Sebastian says:
If this is something that Kobe has done all his career, then how come this year he starts connecting with players’ faces? Phil is just being Phil in this case.
Mar.14 at 7:57 pm
Sherri says:
the L is targeting KOBE and those dumasses made it ovious enough, and all you guys talken abt KOBE pickin` players who wont retaliate? how u sound…ya’ll black??? if he elbows artest, he would go off on him and KOBE would still end up sactually think tht he would intentionally hurt a player knowing the fact tht it would lead to a suspension, doesnt matter if the guy is white oruspended so it dun` even matter, all u bitches sittin` here talken abt how he cant or wont wanna fight somebody like artest, he’s a pro baller, a big guy, a grown ass man, he can handle his damn self, i doubt any guy who is playin in the nba, wont be able to fight back whether it’d be white or black, so ya’ll seriously need to calm down on this shyt, and wht kinda stupid shyt is this any waysz, i havent really seen any real PROFESSIONAL writers or analyst bring this shyt up, not nobody on the nba`s web page, yahoo not even on espn[& they really hate KOBE there] i alaways thought slam had guys who are pretty pro. and sensible no matter how much i disagree with them but this is some bull shyt. grow up ya’ll.
Mar.14 at 8:37 pm
mutoni says:
take a nap, sherri.
Mar.14 at 8:39 pm
Albert says:
The race argument is just irresponsible yellow journalism. On the Ginobili play, Kobe got blocked from behind by a player who switched on him after Bowen was screened. Plus, in both suspension cases, Kobe’s eyes are locked on the ball. The haters have sunk to a new low.
Mar.14 at 10:01 pm
R7 says:
and grammer…last!!
Mar.14 at 10:52 pm
ALX8725 says:
it might have been a “fluke” the very first time with Ginobili but… obviously Kobe gets aggitated when opposing players actually put effort into guarding him. You see this alot with Melo too, when the opposing team puts alot of effort into slowing him down, he becomes a whiny-aggitated-bitch; but Melo doesnt try to straight UFC-elbow-knockout opposing players like Kobe does. One thing’s for sure, Kobe must watch alot of UFC because that elbow technique is flawless
Mar.14 at 10:53 pm
ALX8725 says:
it’s almost as if Kobe thinks hes so great that opposing players shouldnt be guarding him but instead just watching how great he is… or some BS like that
Mar.15 at 8:35 am
Boyd says:
Nothing to do with race, and yes Kobe is concentrating when he does it. Kenny Smith said the other day there was no way a player could should, elbow his guy out the way and go after the ball. Bullshit. Kenny must have very poor peripheral vision, a poor attention span, or both. Reggie Miller also exonerated Kobe, from one bitch-ass baller to another! one love. You never saw a 20/21 y/o kobe elbow charles barkley or charles oakley in the face did you? Its nothing to do with race, it’s to do with the over-inflated ego of one of the biggest bitches of all time. (well, since reggie miller)
Mar.17 at 7:13 pm
Phil B. says:
I agree it’s not racial - but it’s definitely intentional. I vividly recall Kobe almost breaking Mike Bibby’s nose with a minute to go in game 6 of the WCFs. The L wouldn’t have to get involved if players like Karl Malone were still around to stick up for their teammates. (For those too young to have seen it, KM broke Isiah’s jaw for trying to hurt Stockton.) Seriously, Kobe will stop the elbows just as soon as somebody knocks a few of his teeth out doing the same thing.
Mar.18 at 4:00 am
Blinguo says:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9foxNocL4I Around the 1:09 and 1:25 mark. DWade and Raja aren’t Chris Childs but they didn’t just lie down and take it. Kobe has a throwing ‘bows fetish. Mutombo ever get any games taken away for his “switchblades”?