I don't understand what the fuss is about. Jackson wasn't even speaking in first person - he was quoting or paraphrasing Riles. Who, I have no doubt, used "posse". Also, I don't see how posse has a racial connotation. Wouldn't you say the same about white redneck WWF (or whatever) "fighter"? Or a Filipino boxer? I doubt you'd say entourage. Group isn't descriptive enough. But does it carry a connotation of a group of tag-along, freeloading moochers? Sure it does. BECAUSE that's what they are.
I agree although to be fair, that's how Maverick started but not necessarily true now. I respect that he's put in work and also made his own way at times as a businessman. He's helped grow LeBron which is something most of those hanger-ons don't do (ask Iverson). With that said, I understand why Maverick was upset. It must suck not getting recognized for your own achievements. It was LeBron and ESPN that turned this into a race argument, not Maverick himself.
Well Lebron posse has been more successful than Phil's one , that's for sure ... Phil needs to take his meds and go to sleep in his triangle bed
I didn't read your post, still haven't, this was a shot at a dumb and self important celebrity who thinks he matters in the whole scheme of things. Trying to connect everything with race is asinine and incendiary, and extremely laughable.
I'm usually with the side of the oppressed, but I'm not in this case. I am, however, willing to be swayed by some sort of argument. Question 1: When exactly did "posse" take on racial connotations? It wasn't that way from, say, earliest Roman uses of the root term, and it wasn't that way up through the time of "outlaws" in the West (remember that a posse was on the side of the law), and Vanilla Ice had a posse in 1990 (and presumably prior) when his album dropped. And the ICP were using it since 1989. Question 2: Has that sense of "posse," if it existed, persisted? BTW, doesn't "entourage" have as much baggage as "posse" (which might not be much at all)? Aren't they mostly out of touch j******es who verbally fellate their leader and generally serve to insulate that person from the real world?
one could argue that both ICP and vanilla ice co-opted something typically considered "black", and this could be the reason they felt it appropriate to use the word posse. still, point 2 stands. as i said earlier in the thread, i'm not sure posse carries any racial connection anymore--in part because it's not part of our current vernacular. and THAT said, it is also quite possible that phil is still sort of living in the 90s in this regard, and thus is comments ARE, in fact, racially connected. given other things phil has said, it wouldn't be a leap to suggest that he has a certain bias against a culture (if not a race). now, why the media (and lebron) have bothered to fuss this much about it...i don't know. i'm guessing all parties have bigger issues with phil, and this is just a reason to rake him over the coals a bit. in truth, pj probably deserves a bit of this. in all, as others have suggested, i think the race card is the weak play here. suggesting that lebron's associates are merely hangers-on who sort of do his laundry and such is the real source of annoyance. and i think it's fair for those guys to attack phil on those grounds: i've made the best of the opportunity handed me, so shut it old man.
Agree with most of this - but I still would like to know when "posse" took on this meaning. My point about Vanilla Ice was that if the song that mentions it was written in 89, he must have had "the VIP posse" at least that early. So what's the origin of this racist sense of posse?
I think if anyone says anything slightly negative about Lebron or his associates, he'll respond. When you think you are larger than life, you don't let an old has been taking potshots go unaddressed. (His view, not mine) But in this case I thought Phil was out of line and up to his old mental mind games. However, when you are no longer a coach, and you stink in your current role, its best to keep those comments to yourself. It comes across as desperation or attempting to stay relevant. Just sad really. Even the greatest narcissists grow old, feeble, and irrelevant.
*shrugs*, there's probably some sociologist who knows. i just remember being 10 years old and associating "posse" with hip hop culture (a big pj bugaboo). rap albums featured references to posses (i think sir mix alot, pre big butts, had an album with "posse" in the title). i'm guessing ICP and vanilla ice were the tipping point for the term as a) a marker of anything cool and b) an association with black culture/people. it's like when the squares get hold of the fad that started three years ago, effectively killing it (quoth the square). so, i guess my thought is that it was a narrow window in time that posse was associated with american black culture, and it's the window in which phil jackson still lives, hence allowing for a mildly racist take on its use here. still, though, i think the more sensible condemnation is that he's being unnecessarily disrespectful of people who have made their way in the business world. and sirron is correct: the larger issue is phil not simply knowing his role and shutting up about...well...almost everything. he has to know that anything he says will be broadcast, repeated, and analyzed. time to be more careful regarding the topics about which you choose to speak publicly.
abeer3, this is what I was trying to say, but you said it a little better than me. Now back to the lowlights.
A Matthew Dellavedova biopic is now in pre-production Eric Freeman,Ball Don't Lie Look it up on Yahoo if interested. Their links do not save for me in the normal fashion any more. Shirley they can't be serious?
J.R. Smith leaves floor to say Hi to Jason Terry ..... while on defense and game is in progress. 428AB2DE6F1415569148515328000_583e368328b1277b747e4c9.mp4
