NBPA chief: Jax tried to shame Melo out of city
PHIL Jackson has a new adversary.
Michele Roberts, the executive director of the National Basketball Players Association, fired off on the Knicks president, telling The Vertical that she thinks “Phil was deliberately trying to shame Melo out of the city.”
Following the end of the Knicks’ 31-51 season, Jackson said Anthony would “be better off somewhere else.” Roberts called his comments “inappropriate” at the time but said on Wednesday she “would have bet my paycheck on” the league sanctioning Jackson. She cited a double-standard, pointing to forward Markieff Morris’ comments in September 2015, who said his “future is not in Phoenix,” which drew a $10,000 fine from the league for a “public statement detrimental to the game.”
Roberts added that she has “players who are unhappy that this hasn’t been responded to by the league.”
“The comments do damage to the game because they devalue the player and makes the fans who buy tickets question the value of the investment,” she told The Vertical. “Our players understand that they can privately complain about how a team is managed but they cannot do it publicly without being subject to sanction.
“But it has to work both ways. If Phil tells Melo in private that being in New York is not a good fit for him, that’s his right. But these comments were made in public, and it’s very disturbing because Phil gave him the no-trade clause and he has to respect it. He’s got to allow a player to make a decision for any reason – to win a ring, for money, home life, whatever.”