Last Season by Phil Jackson, anyone read it?

[NNguyenMD]

I'm toiling over whether or not its worth buying. Phil Jackson is legendary, but I don't know about writing. Anybody at DU think it was a good read?

From reading the reviews, I like his characterization of how he characterizes Kobe Bryant as a "callous hired gun" who represents everything that is wrong with the NBA today.

[Blecht]

1. He's a fucking zen wingnut

He chided Steve Nash last year for speaking out against the war -- he said something like Nash should keep his mouth shut about things grownups knew better about.

I wouldn't wipe my ass with anything Jackson wrote.

[theboss]

2. He helped run Bill Bradley's campaign

He got Michael Jordan to endorse Bradley. (Bradley being Bradley thought that Jordan's endorsement wouldn't work in New Hampshire and held it back until later in the primary season).

So, yea, he's a right-winger.

[Blecht]

3. As long as he supports war crimes

...he's worse than a right winger. I don't care who he supported in the past.

Maybe he's become "enlightened" since he made his comments about Nash. If he has, I haven't heard about it.

[theboss]

4. When did he say that?

Knowing Jackson, I'm thinking you are misreading the context of the quote (if there is such a quote). He's been clear in the past that he thinks a lot of players are idiots so that may be what he is saying (again if he said anything at all).

[Blecht]

5. It was a radio interview

He really said something very much like that -- he was buying into the WWII comparisons that were being made at the time. Not going in and "taking out Saddam" would have been the equivalent of appeasing Hitler.

Then he bashed Nash for not drinking the Flavor-Ade.

A lot of people have come to their senses since then -- maybe Jackson is one of them. But until I see something that shows me he has, I'm going to assume he's still thinking that way.

On edit: I remember now -- it was his own syndicated radio show: http://radio.sportingnews.com/shows/phil_jackson/archive.html

I'm looking for the particular one in which he said that stuff ...

[Blecht]

6. more info

There's no link, so you're probably not going to believe me.

But here are some more details I remember from the interview, which I place at sometime post-invasion 2003. The reason it made such an impact on me is that I had bought into Jackson's image as a compassionate thinking person -- until he started talking about Iraq.

According to Jackson, the anti-war demonstrators during the Vietnam era were right to oppose US policies. In his mind, now was different. It was in the vein of "911 changed everything." We needed to stand up to Saddam "the madman." People like Steve Nash who are opposed to the Iraq invasion were entitled to their opinions, but they needed to grow up.

I did a pretty thorough Google search, and nothing turned up. Remember, what Jackson was saying at the time was the norm for what was being said in the mainstream media. It would not have caused a ripple, unlike the blasphemous Nash.

The bottom line: He said it. I remember where I was when I heard it in my car. It was surprising to me -- that's why I remember it so vividly. You can choose to believe it or not.

[NNguyenMD]

7. well I figure he would have known better being a Buddhist than to go to

war based on lies. I didn't know his politics were that far right.