Former NBA player Stephen Jackson shared his reaction to the firing Monty Williams by the Suns. The former Coach of the Year was fired after Phoenix lost in the second round against the Nuggets.
Jackson thought the firing was about the race. “When teams come together like this, they quick to go and find a white coach, just throw him in that position so he can get all the credit,” he said on I AM ATHLETE podcast.
“Every time a black coach gets into the league, he gets the worst team in the league to start his career off… Situations like this, they always find a white coach somewhere around just like they did with Steve Nash in Brooklyn. They throw him in a spot where a team is really already basically together.”
Some Twitter users pointed out that the primary target for Suns is Tyronn Lue. One user mentioned Joe Mazzulla as an example of a black rookie coach getting a good team. Ime Udoka and Darvin Ham are other examples.
Another user brought up the fact that two white championship-winning coaches, Mike Budenholzer and Nick Nurse, have been fired recently.
After being fired by Phoenix, Williams is among candidates for the Bucks, a team that had the best regular season record this year.
