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NBA legend Kobe Bryant dies at 41 in a helicopter crash

Jay Murdock

Jan 27, 2020
4 min

NBA legend Kobe Bryant dies at 41 in a helicopter crash

Kobe Bryant, one of basketball’s greatest players and most masterful scorers of all time, was among the passengers who died Sunday in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. By Jeff Zillgitt | USA Today | January 26, 2020 Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said in an afternoon news conference the passenger manifest for the helicopter indicated nine people were on board. There were no survivors. Early reports said five people were aboard. Villanueva declined to co

LeBron James praises Kyle Korver for criticism of white privilege

Jay Murdock

Apr 8, 2019
3 min

LeBron James praises Kyle Korver for criticism of white privilege

The Guardian, Sports | April 8, 2019 LeBron James has praised his former teammate Kyle Korver for an essay he published on the subject of white privilege. The veteran Utah Jazz player, who was a teammate of James on the Cleveland Cavaliers, wrote an article for the Players’ Tribune after reflecting on two incidents in recent years. His friend and teammate Thabo Sefolosha had his leg broken during an arrest outside a nightclub in 2015, and was later found not guilty of any cri

Jaylen Brown: ‘Sport is a mechanism of control in America’

Jay Murdock

Jan 9, 2018
10 min

Jaylen Brown: ‘Sport is a mechanism of control in America’

As the Boston Celtics star prepares to play in London, he talks to Donald McRae about race, the NBA and the death of his best friend By Donald McRae | The Guardian | January 9, 2018 Jaylen Brown is one the most intelligent and interesting young athletes I’ve met in years and it seems fitting that, midway through our interview in Boston, he should retell a parable that brings together Martin Luther King and the great American writer David Foster Wallace. “We’ve got two young f

Craig Hodges: ‘Jordan didn’t speak out because he didn’t know what to say’

Jay Murdock

Apr 20, 2017
11 min

Craig Hodges: ‘Jordan didn’t speak out because he didn’t know what to say’

He was one of the NBA’s finest sharpshooters and a two-time champion alongside Michael Jordan, but was run out of the league for his outspoken views. A quarter of a century on, Craig Hodges is still fighting the good fight By Donald McRae / The Guardian / Thursday 20 April 2017 05.00 EDT “I’m sad to say that one of our players was shot on Monday,” Craig Hodgesreveals after he has spoken for an hour about his brave but tumultuous career in the NBA. Hodges fell out with Michael

Inside The NBA’s barrage of idiocy puts Barkley and Shaq on rocky path

Jay Murdock

Mar 1, 2017
4 min

Inside The NBA’s barrage of idiocy puts Barkley and Shaq on rocky path

The TNT mainstay has provided fine entertainment over the years but it is becoming increasingly hampered by hot takes and bullying By DJ Gallo / The Guardian / Tuesday 28 February 2017 05.00 EST “Inappropriate. Whiny. [LeBron James is] all of the above. The Cleveland Cavaliers, they have given him everything he wanted. They have the highest payroll in NBA history. Does he want all of the good players? He doesn’t want to compete?” Skip Bayless has forged a career as a LeBron J

Zach LaVine: the NBA star who supports the deaf community

Jay Murdock

Feb 22, 2017
6 min

Zach LaVine: the NBA star who supports the deaf community

by NBPA in Community, Features MINNEAPOLIS — During his rookie season in 2014-15, Zach LaVine was eating at a restaurant in Minneapolis one day when a boy came over to say hello. LaVine soon realized he was deaf, but that only made the interaction even stronger: the Timberwolves standout shooting guard, who signed an autograph for him, also greeted him using sign language. The young fan started to cry. “It was a big thing to him,” LaVine told the NBPA this week after a pract

LeBron James Passes Cristiano Ronaldo On Forbes SportsMoney Index

Jay Murdock

Feb 17, 2017
3 min

LeBron James Passes Cristiano Ronaldo On Forbes SportsMoney Index

By Chris Smith / FORBES STAFF / February 15, 2017 The NBA has been remarkably successful in recent years, and it seems just about everyone with a stake in the action is cashing in. The average NBA team is now worth $1.4 billion, and the New York Knicks remain the league’s most valuable franchise at a whopping $3.3 billion, a 10% increase from a year ago. Players have also been growing richer off the flood of money entering the sport, and none moreso than LeBron James, who si

Warriors’ Steve Kerr cites father’s terror death to denounce Trump travel ban

Jay Murdock

Jan 31, 2017
2 min

Warriors’ Steve Kerr cites father’s terror death to denounce Trump travel ban

Golden State coach’s father was killed in Beirut by gunmen – Ronda Rousey and Gregg Popovich also attack president’s policy The Guardian / Monday, January 30, 2017 Steve Kerr has joined the chorus of voices in the NBA that have attacked Donald Trump’s ban on travellers and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries. On Sunday, the Golden State Warriors coach said the president’s executive order had personal resonance. “I would just say that as someone whose family member w

David Griffin on LeBron James: ‘You’re basically charged with the legacy of Babe Ruth’

Jay Murdock

Jan 16, 2017
6 min

David Griffin on LeBron James: ‘You’re basically charged with the legacy of Babe Ruth’

Michael Lee: The Vertical NBA columnist – Yahoo Sports US , Jan 16, 2017, 9:37 AM SAN FRANCISCO – The running joke about the Cleveland Cavaliers is that when he’s not humiliating opponents with chase-down blocks, setting up his teammates with those sweet-and-smooth-as-cheesecake passes and continuing to defy age with those gravity-defying dunks, LeBron James is also running basketball operations for the franchise. GM LeBron, as he is known to fans on social media and elsewher

What can the NFL learn from the NBA about Donald Trump?

Jay Murdock

Dec 24, 2016
4 min

What can the NFL learn from the NBA about Donald Trump?

Les Carpenter – The Guardian/November 11, 2016 The NBA engenders an climate of open dialogue that’s made basketball players more willing to speak on social issues – and it’s more important now than ever The NFL and NBA have roughly the same racial profile with African Americans comprising 68 to 74% of their rosters. They have long been leagues dominated by athletes of color and should be places where essential social issues involving race are discussed. And yet when it comes