Stephen Jackson is known for being authentic. He was a winning player on the court, clutch and raw with emotion. Off the court, he hung with the same dudes from when he was young growing up in Texas. His street credibility is official and he was in no way a protected, sheltered and self-absorbed prep school phenom who got pampered all the way through to the pros.
This is what I wrote about him in an exclusive 2014 interview.
In an era, where players are character chameleons with puppy muzzles in search of marketing dollars and fitting into a box that brings acclaim, favoritism and wealth to the highly-marketable superstar, Jackson has built a 14-year NBA championship career while maintaining his integrity as a person. Hes refused to cower to the pressures and control of big business. Hes often risked his own comfortable livelihood and health by staying true to his trill Port Arthur, Texas roots and the community and childhood friends that rode the wave of turmoil and tribulation with him.
He told me that he wasnt in the NBA anymore because he was too real.” He also said the NBA was Soft. Watered down. Commercial.
Sounds like an accurate description of some of the NBAs most revered and respected superstars.
Its not a surprise that a dude as thorough as Jackson, in regards to being a man and conducting himself like one with transparency, has some criticism for Kevin Durants strange Twitter habits and hidden insecurities.
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Stephen Jackson puts Kevin Durant on blast. But is it justified? https://t.co/IxVgOu0nVj
Appearing on ESPN’s The Jump, the former Golden State Warriors swingman said he now views Durant the same as any other person on Twitter who uses an egg avatar to speak from behind a wall of anonymity.
“I look at you now as I look at everybody else on Twitter and Instagram that has a little egg avatar,” said Jackson. “You are that person now. You cannot be excluded from that. Who creates a fake page? I’m the person, if I want to respond to somebody on social media, it has to come from my page with a verified check on it. He’s an egg avatar now, I have no respect for him.”
While some acted as if Durants actions were of little consequence, those people who still have a non computer-chipped pulse in their bodies know that it was not only bizarre and unusual, but also kind of sad and very revealing.
Im sure Jackson is not the only person who feels this way about Durants dummy account and the subsequent apology. Nobody expected homie to actually admit to it. On Tuesday, Durant apologized for tweeting out criticisms of the Oklahoma City Thunder and head coach Billy Donovan in the third person from his own verified account.
“That was just me being a total (expletive) idiot,” Durant told USA Today’s Sam Amick. “I own up to it. I want to move on from it. It probably hit me probably harder than what everybody (thought). Everybody else was telling me to relax, to snap out of it, but I was really, really upset with myself more than anything.”
Im sure Golden State, who cant understand why Durant is even still commenting on OKC, can’t wait for the season to start, for KD to start dropping a hard 40 and for people to slowly forget how soft and juvenile his actions really were. The whole debacle sort of mortalized a guy who was seen as superhuman just a few months ago.
