Stephen Jackson Says Suns Fired Monty Williams So They Could 'Go Find A White Coach'

It did not take long for someone to scream racism after the Phoenix Suns decided to part ways with head coach Monty Williams after their postseason exit. Former NBA player Stephen Jackson gladly ran with the narrative that Williams' skin color played a part in his firing.

Phoenix calling it quits with Williams was absolutely a surprise. He led the Suns to the NBA Finals in 2021 and punched back-to-back trips to the Western Conference semifinals over the last two seasons.

On top of that, Phoenix's 'big three' of Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, and Devin Booker barely shared a cup of coffee together after Durant was acquired at the trade deadline and Paul was in and out of the lineup with injuries.

But, two things can be true at once: Williams' firing is surprising and it also has nothing to do with the color of his skin.

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"Give this team another year to have a whole season of training camp and all this together to see if they could pull it off," Jackson said on the 'Paper Route' podcast.

"I didn’t think they were gonna get rid of the coach. I think he was the right coach for the job. But you know how they do. When teams come together like this, they’re quick to go and find a white coach somewhere around, just throw him in that position so he can get all the credit.”

This is a grown man in the year 2023 making the argument that an NBA franchise fired a black head coach just so they could hire a white head coach to make them look good if/when the team succeeds.

Ty Lue, who is black, is being linked as the favorite to fill the coaching vacancy in Phoenix. Don't expect to see Jackson walk back his comments if the Suns hire a black coach to replace Williams, or Doc Rivers who was also fired for that matter, he'll likely just ignore any criticism that comes his way.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and all other happenings in the world of golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.