Jackson Takes Aim at Kobe, Teammates
Posted Oct 14, 2009 5:45PM By
Matt Steinmetz (
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OAKLAND, Calif. --
Stephen Jackson was at it again on Wednesday, speaking his mind and bringing down the verbal hammer.
This time the nails were
Kobe Bryant and his teammates.
One day after
he gave up his Warriors' captaincy and took shots at his coach and his organization's front office, Jackson went in another direction. Asked to elaborate on what happened Friday night against the
Lakers and Kobe Bryant -- which led to his two-game suspension -- that's exactly what Jackson did.
"Basically, to beat a dead horse, (Bryant) was just playing dirty," Jackson said. "He was getting favoritism out there. I'm not saying the refs were cheating. I'm not saying that at all. I think he was getting away with stuff that I couldn't get away with. And I didn't think it was fair.
"So I reacted on it. And if it happens again, I'm going to react the same way."
Jackson picked up five fouls and one technical foul in less than 10 minutes in the
Warriors' 110-91 preseason win over the Lakers last Friday. Jackson then got into a verbal confrontation with coach Don Nelson, who sent him to the locker room for the rest of the night.
In a meeting with general manager Larry Riley and Nelson on Monday, Jackson made it clear he didn't want to be a team captain anymore. Riley and Nelson said that was fine with them.
Jackson then addressed the media and said his relationship with Nelson had changed and that he would respect him on the court but that was about it. Jackson also said on Tuesday that everything was cool with his teammates because it really wasn't about them.
But maybe that's not the case. On Wednesday, Jackson made it clear that he did have an issue with his teammates, saying they didn't have his back like he would have had theirs.
"Nobody reacted but me so the team didn't have a reaction," Jackson said. "It was only me standing up for myself. I don't think anybody else stood up for me. But if the shoe was on the other foot, I would have stood up for somebody on my team. And they didn't do the same for me."
There were some reports that Bryant called Jackson "young fella" during their time on the court together and that may have played a role in Jackson's blowup. Jackson made no mention of that.
"I'm not going to bow down," Jackson said. "I'm not a fan of Kobe. I'm not somebody who looks up to him. I'm a grown man myself. So when I go out there and play the game, I play the game. I feel like I'm just as good as him. I might not get the publicity or notoriety he gets, but I feel like I can play with anybody in the
NBA any given night.
"I think everybody should feel like that. Everybody should be a competitor and I don't back down from anybody. I've never been like that and I'm not going to start today. ... It ain't envy. I ain't jealous of anybody. At the end of the day I'm still blessed to be in this game, taking care of my family. I think it's just the fact that what's fair is fair and I want to be treated fair as a man. Just like anybody else would."
