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New York Knicks president Phil Jackson labeling LeBron James and his childhood friends/ business partners as a ‘posse’ has struck a nerve with the three-time NBA champion and his right hand Maverick Carter.

It all began when Jackson did an interview with Jackie MacMullan for ESPN.com and was revisiting James’ departure from the Miami Heat in the summer of 2014 and what it meant for the tenure of Heat president Pat Riley.

JM: It all started when LeBron left, right? Could you have ever imagined Earvin Johnson leaving Riley, or Michael Jordan leaving you?

PJ: It had to hurt when they lost LeBron. 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. 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.

I always thought Pat had this really nice vibe with his guys. But something happened there where it broke down. I do know LeBron likes special treatment. He needs things his way.

LeBron’s response:

“I’ve been in this league 14 years and from the beginning, two years in, I felt like that I wanted to put my guys in a position of power and give those guys an opportunity to better themselves. And you know, in the beginning we were highly criticized and I was highly criticized about what I wanted to do to help some guys around me become very successful in business. And, you know, it just sucks that now at this point, having one of the biggest businesses that you can have both on and off the floor, having a certified in Rich Paul, having a certified business partner in Maverick Carter that has done so many great businesses, that the title for young African-Americans is the word “posse.” So, for me, we see the success that we had, but then there’s always someone that lets you know how far we still have to go as African-Americans.”

“To use that label, and if you go and read the definition of that the word ‘posse’ is, it’s not what I’ve built over my career,” James said, according to The Sporting News. “It’s not what my family stands for. And I believe the only reason he used that word is because it’s young African-Americans trying to make a difference.”

Maverick Carter response:

“I don’t care that he talks about LeBron,” Maverick Carter told ESPN.com. “He could say he’s not that good or the greatest in the world as a basketball player. I wouldn’t care. It’s the word ‘posse’ and the characterization I take offense to. If he would have said LeBron and his agent, LeBron and his business partners or LeBron and his friends, that’s one thing. Yet because you’re young and black, he can use that word. We’re grown men.”

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