ESPN’s First Take recently came under heavy fire from fans over a supposedly racist take. Kendrick Perkins, a former NBA player, accused the league of favoring white players in MVP voting. He began his argument by pointing out the curious MVP cases of Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, and Steve Nash.
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Perkins specifically chose to talk about players who won their MVPs after 1990. Perkins then claimed that the only players to win the accolade while not being a part of the top ten scorers that season were Nash, Nowitzki, and Jokic. Perkins, through his phrasing and argument, implied that the only thing common between these players was their race.
JJ Redick, in First Take’s latest episode, condemned Perkins and Stephen A Smith for that particular segment. However, Kendrick wasn’t too receptive to Redick’s statements.
JJ Redick calls out Kendrick Perkins for his ‘racist’ take
Redick is one of the regulars on First Take. He has recently been under attack from a few analysts and players for his takes. However, he continues to defend his stance fiercely and, in all fairness, respectfully. On the latest episode of First Take, Redick pointed out the implications of Perkins’ recent statement on Jokic, Nash, and Nowitzki.
Redick: “We create narratives that do not exist in reality.” He continued: “What you are implying, that the white voters that vote on NBA are racist. They favor white people.”
Kendrick Perkins profusely refused Redick’s claims. He kept on repeating that he had not implied this as soon as Redick highlighted the issue. However, Redick wasn’t ready to accept Perkins’ denial. He reaffirmed that his fellow analyst and former NBA player had indeed implied that. At this point, Kendrick Perkins became increasingly aggressive and justified his opinion by calling them facts. Ultimately, Stephen A. had to step in to break the argument off.
Perkins responds to accusations of being racist on Twitter
Under the weight of the Ja Morant saga, Kendrick Perkins’ comments were buried for the last few days. However. Redick clearly remembers them. By pointing them out and putting them on display in front of the world, he has brought the comments back to the surface.
After the episode was released, Perkins took to Twitter to respond to the claims. He claimed earlier he had been called a c**n, referring to Draymond Green’s comments on his podcast, and was now being called a racist for stating the facts.
Clearly, Perkins is in a stage of complete denial. His previous comments clearly implied what Redick pointed out. His argument condensed into one sentence was: Nash, Jokic, and Nowitzki are white and therefore they won MVP without being the top 10 scorers that season. Hopefully, Perkins will acknowledge the errs of his methods and respond appropriately to the pioneers of the game he has just disrespected.
