Source: Robert Gauthier / Getty
JJ Redick has been the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers for less than a week, and he’s already involved in his first controversy.
Yesterday, as his introductory press conference in Los Angeles was going down, a woman by the name of Halleemah Nash took to Twitter to reveal that Redick once called her the N-word while they were at Duke, and despite his alleged racist ways, he’s still seen a ton of success.
I’ve only been called the N word to my face by a white man once in my life and it was on the campus of Duke University while I was doing work with the basketball team. And today he was named the new head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. What a world.
— Halleemah Nash (@halleemah) June 25, 2024
“I’ve only been called the N word to my face by a white man once in my life and it was on the campus of Duke University while I was doing work with the basketball team,” she tweeted. “And today he was named the new head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. What a world.”
She didn’t mention him by name, but Redick was a scoring legend when he played at the North Carolina school from 2002-2006, and he was officially named the Lakers head coach yesterday.
For context, this was years ago and Im a believer that we all have space to grow- especially from our college level maturity. We live in a world where these exchanges happen and the intersection of race and privilege and lack of accountability all collided w/that presser.
— Halleemah Nash (@halleemah) June 25, 2024
The tweet went viral, and people began to ask for more information on the incident, so she threaded another message that read, “For context, this was years ago and Im a believer that we all have space to grow- especially from our college level maturity. We live in a world where these exchanges happen and the intersection of race and privilege and lack of accountability all collided w/that presser.”
TMZ reached out to Redick’s team and, in a brief statement, denied it.
“No, it never happened,” his spokesperson told TMZ.
Redick’s one gig has also drawn ire from fans. Earlier this year, he started a podcast called Mind The Game with Lakers star LeBron James, in which they talk the technical intricacies of basketball… like a coach would.
Then, after UConn’s Dan Hurley turned down a six-year, $70 million deal, Redick—who has no coaching experience—was given the job.
Redick says he’s done podcasting, but when it comes to wanting to clear up any misconceptions regarding the job, he told a reporter, “I don’t really have a great answer for your question because I really don’t give a f-ck.”
See how social media is reacting to Redick’s rough start to the head coaching world below.
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