Serious question, what are the odds that George Karl paid close attention to how much shit Phil Jackson stirred up with the whole "posse" conversation only to go back and intentionally insert that word every-so-carefully prior to printing? Like, I was already pretty skeptical that it's inclusion in his book was disingenuous, and then I read the following quote and realized he was going full scorched earth in the interest of sales... Not going to lie. He almost had me. I almost thought that NBA higher-ups were behind closed doors throwing "posse" around like they were a bunch of white kids belting out every lyric to their favorite rap album from the sanctity of their own car. I was starting to believe that the old caucasian men who have used the hard work of African American athletes to cultivate successful careers in their field were refusing to acknowledge that some words might have alternative meanings to people with completely different backgrounds. That is, until George Karl all but said that it's impossible to coach well compensated, black, fatherless basketball players. That excerpt above is such a desperate plea for publicity that I can't help but think that George Karl knew exactly what he was doing when he dropped a "posse" on the page. Controversy sells, and no single word has been more controversial in NBA circles than the one that started a fued between the winningest coach of all time and best active player in the entire league. I know that. You know that. George Karl knows that. And the editor whose resume could be positively effected by the popularity of a book that literally no one gave a single fuck about before this morning knows that. I don't doubt that the coach who somehow made his last team more dysfunctional had thoughts on the word "posse" that echoed those of Phil Jackson, but I do doubt the decision to publish said word was nothing more than an attempt to capitalize off of an existing, polarizing argument that was guaranteed to get attention. For shame George, I was expecting a snake to do a better job of hiding his intentions...
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