Not long after taking the reins as the new head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, J.J. Redick was accused of calling a woman the N-word while he was a player at Duke.
Redick denies the allegation.
“I’ve only been called the N-word to my face by a white man once in my life, and it was on the campus of Duke University while I was doing work with the basketball team,” wrote Halleemah Nash, an author and alum of Duke.
“And today, he was named the new head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. What a world.”
I’ve only been called the N word to my face by a white man once in my life and it was on the campus of Duke University while I was doing work with the basketball team. And today he was named the new head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. What a world.
— Halleemah Nash (@halleemah) June 25, 2024
Nash’s accusation has been viewed over 25 million times as of this writing.
Redick’s camp is denying the allegation.
“No, it never happened,” a spokesperson told TMZ Sports.
Redick, who has never coached before, had a stellar career at Duke as a player and played in the NBA for 15 years before launching a broadcast career with ESPN. Speculation that Redick might eventually get the Lakers job picked up in earnest after he and Lebron James began their Mind the Game podcast in 2023.
That speculation proved prophetic after Redick was named head coach on Tuesday.