Phil Jackson Says He Doesn't Watch NBA Because of Politics

Legendary NBA coach Phil Jackson says he has grown disenchanted with the league’s foray into politics and no longer watches games as a result. In a recent interview on the Tetragrammaton podcast, host Rick Rubin asked Jackson if he still watches NBA basketball. “They had things on their back like ‘Justice’ and a funny thing happened,” Jackson said. Jackson cited a former teammate from his playing days, former Senator Bill Bradley — who won two championships with Jackson on the Knicks in the 1970s — as an example of how one could be separate politics from basketball. “Bill Bradley was a senator, a number of baseball players have been representatives and senators … But their politics stay out of the game,” Jackson said.