Phil Ellsworth / ESPN Images(INDEPENDENCE, Ohio) — Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James is not happy with New York Knicks president Phil Jackson. James told ESPN that he has lost all respect for Jackson when he characterized James’ business associates as a “posse” in a recent ESPN interview.
“It had to hurt when they lost LeBron,” Jackson said in the interview, speaking about James’ decision to leave Cleveland for the Miami Heat in the summer of 2014. “That was definitely a slap in the face. But there were a lot of little things that came out of that.”
“When LeBron was playing with the Heat, they went to Cleveland, and he wanted to spend the night. They don’t do overnights. Teams just don’t,” he added. “So now [coach Erik] Spoelstra has to text Riley and say, ‘What do I do in this situation?’ And Pat, who has iron-fist rules, answers, ‘You are on the plane. You are with this team.’ You can’t hold up the whole team because you and your mom and your posse want to spend an extra night in Cleveland.”
James’ business associate Maverick Carter took exception to Jackson’s statement, as did LeBron himself.
“We see the success that we have, but then there is always someone that lets you know still how far we still have to go as African-Americans,” James said. “We’re not going to let Phil Jackson’s comments stop us from doing what we need to do. It just gives us extra motivation. But it’s still sad.”
Jackson has not responded directly to James’ comments as of Wednesday.
Copyright © 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.