Robert Horry may not be well known by your average basketball fan, but he has been a part of seven NBA championship-winning teams. This run included being teammates with Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant for the Los Angeles Lakers under the coaching of Phil Jackson. Recently, Horry appeared on the ‘All The Smoke‘ podcast to talk about his stint with the Lakers, growing up in Alabama, and the racism he faced, among other things.
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Phil Jackson has cemented his place in the Hall of Fame for his track record as a coach. Having taken the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls and the Shaq-led Lakers to multiple championships, Phil is one of the greatest coaches in NBA history. However, there have been rumors of him being racist with his comments, and Scottie Pippen has called him out for it. With Robert Horry having suffered racism growing up, he always carried that fear during his stint with the coach.
Robert Horry talks about facing racism in Alabama
While talking to Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes during the podcast, Robert reflected on his days growing up in Alabama, where racism was prevalent. He faced it as a kid playing baseball. And that trauma continues to impact him even today as he finds himself searching for African-American people in public places in case an incident breaks out. Here is what he said during his appearance on All the Smoke:
“It made you be aware of your surroundings. It’s one of the things my wife laughs about because every time I go places I am always looking – You know there is only one black person around. She says -Why do you always notice?. Because if s–t goes down, me and him gonna team up. You have to be careful when you go to a restaurant in Alabama because people start eyeballing you.”
This kind of upbringing can scar a person for life, and as mentioned by Robert, it makes you far more cautious. So, when he heard about the comments by Scottie on Phil Jackson, he recalled an incident that did not sit well with him. In a huddle during the game, Phil called himself the ‘master’ and it immediately rang bells in Horry’s mind. However, he did go on record to defend the coach and said Jackson was not a racist man.
Phil Jackson threw racist comments at Shaquille O’Neal
Shaquille O’Neal has shared some bitter-sweet memories with Phil Jackson. On the one hand, he won multiple championships under the coach for LA, and on the other hand, he has been thrown out of practice for being late. The relationship was turbulent throughout his stint with the Lakers and it led to him leaving for the Miami Heat.
One incident that immediately caught eyeballs was related to Phil Jackson having racist undertones to his comments. In his book – ‘Shaq Uncut: My Story‘, Shaq revealed Phil passing racial comments about him not being able to swim because he is black. Though the comments could be made in jest, they made the big man very uncomfortable, bringing the storied head coach’s character into question. You can take a look at all the details right here.
