Former NBA star JJ Redick chastised ESPN’s First Take and 2008 NBA Champion Kendrick Perkins on Tuesday following Perkins’s apparent implication that racial bias plays a factor in the voting for the NBA’s MVP award.
On March 1, Perkins joined the First Take crew and pointed out that only three players: Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, and Nikola Jokic, have been awarded the NBA MVP since 1990 without being inside the top 10 points per game measurement, according to a report.
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“What do those guys have in common? I’ll let it sit there and marinate,” Perkins asked Steven Smith. “You think about it.”
Nash, Nowitzki, and Jokic are all white, and Perkins quoted artist Jay-Z stating, “Is it ‘Oochie Wally’ or is it ‘One Mic?'”
Kendrick Perkins’ comments that set off JJ Redick:
“When it comes down to guys winning MVP since 1990, it’s only three guys who won MVP that wasn’t top 10 in scoring… Steve Nash, Jokic, and Dirk Nowitzki. Now, what do those guys have in common?”pic.twitter.com/cjFvpduuSS https://t.co/ZG4fXyPECd
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) March 7, 2023
The lyrics of those songs are commonly referred to as a tool to identify double standards and hypocrisies, the report noted.
Redick appeared to have Perkins’s comments in mind Tuesday.
Uh oh, JJ Redick just went on ESPN and accused them of making up racism narratives. Good for Redick. He’s 100% right here. Kendrick Perkins said last week Jokic is getting the MVP because he’s white. pic.twitter.com/F3VhHPShMo
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) March 7, 2023
“Stephen A., I mean no offense to you, and I mean no offense to First Take because I think this show is extremely valuable,” he said.
“It is an honor to be on this desk every day. It really is. But what we’ve just witnessed is the problem with this show, where we create narratives that do not exist in reality. The implication that you are implying — that the white voters that vote on NBA [awards] are racist, that they favor white people — you just said that,” Redick said, addressing Perkins, who turned in his chair.
“I did not,” Perkins replied repeatedly. “I did not.”
“Yes, you did,” insisted Redick. “That’s exactly what you implied, Kendrick Perkins,”
After continuing to repeat over Redick, “I did not. I did not. I did not,” Perkins raised his voice and shouted, “I stated the facts! I stated the facts.”
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“We all know what you implied the other day,” Redick fired back. “We all know what you implied just now.”
