Spinnable Sports Your Sports, Our Spin
During a recent appearance on ESPN’s First Take, Kendrick Perkins made some controversial comments that have sparked criticism from many in the sports world.
Perkins suggested that racism might be a factor in the voting for NBA MVP awards, citing the fact that only three white players – Nikola Jokic, Dirk Nowitzki, and Steve Nash – have ever won the award while finishing outside of the top 10 in scoring. Perkins seemed to take issue with the discussion surrounding Jokic’s potential third straight MVP award, accusing the Denver Nuggets star of “stat-padding.”
Thankfully, JJ Redick was quick to call out Perkins’ remarks as ignorant and offensive. Perkins tried to backtrack by claiming that he was simply “stating the facts,” but his history of making racially charged comments suggests otherwise.
Perkins has a history of making questionable statements on air, and his appearance on First Take was no exception. Not only did he make unfounded accusations about Jokic’s performance, but he also brought race into the conversation in a way that was entirely unwarranted.
Many fans of ESPN have criticized the network for allowing Perkins to continue making these kinds of comments. Some argue that his presence on the network only serves to detract from the quality of its sports coverage, and that he is one of many contributors to the network’s overall decline.
It is unfortunate to see someone with such a large platform uses it in such a wasteful way, though it is par for the course at ESPN. ESPN started at Everything Sports Plus News, but has officially transitioned to Ethnically Spewing Political Nonsense. I miss when sports new was just about the sports.
