Jay Z Responds to Phil Jackson Over LeBron James ‘Posse’ Comments

Monday night, Brooklyn’s Barclays Center hosted the Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year ceremony. The honorees included Michael Phelps and, of course, LeBron James. Being that the event was held in Brooklyn, it only made sense that the borough’s own Jay Z was there to introduce LeBron.

While onstage, Hov paid tribute to the Cavs’ big man—not only his on-the-court prowess, but also his charity work.

He tried his hand at standup comedy.

But the moment that got the most attention was when Jay critiqued Phil Jackson’s now-infamous use of the word “posse” when describing LeBron’s colleagues.

Jay took a moment to talk about how LeBron is “The son who honors and worships his mother Gloria. The friend who put his posse in position,” emphasizing the controversial word with a smile. He continued:

“We know where we come from. We do understand where we come from, and the only difference between us and someone who has their MBA from Wharton or Sloan or Berkeley or Stanford is opportunity. LeBron James has provided his friends with that opportunity. And as we witness their development, and if we’re looking up at the scoreboard, very few businessmen are better than Maverick Carter, Rich Paul, Randy Mims, and all the rest of the posse behind the scenes that make it look like they’re just hanging out.”

Hov’s speech can be found in full below, starting at the 1:43:30 mark.

[youtube ytid=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0P3gPkCO4c&w=560&h=315%5D

Jay is not the only person to be critical of Jackson for his racially-charged wording. Kevin Durant has spoken out, as have Maverick Carter and James himself.