Kendrick Perkins is known for his bombastic takes on NBA matters. But when the topic turns to serious off-court issues, maybe he should dial it down.
On ESPN’s “First Take” Monday, Perkins and fellow analyst Dominique Foxworth were asked about the renewed attention two criminal cases involving Jason Kidd and Chauncey Billups are receiving amidst their recent hirings to coach the Mavericks and Trail Blazers, respectively.
In 1997, a woman accused Billups and ex-Celtics teammate Ron Mercer of raping her at Antoine Walker’s house. At the time, Billups was a 21-year-old rookie. He and Mercer reached an undisclosed financial settlement with the woman in 2000, and the point guard was never charged with a crime.
Kidd, meanwhile, was arrested in 2001 for domestic violence.
Obviously, these are sensitive topics. But Perkins went into full-fledged defense mode, tying race into the conversation as well.
“As soon as African-Americans can take that leap, and get in a place of power, this is when it all starts to come out,” Perkins said. “This is when these writers want to start bringing up people’s past, like everyone don’t have a damn pass. I’m pretty sure we’ve all done something when we were younger that we wouldn’t do again.”
In a follow-up tweet, Perkins said Billups and Kidd are falling victim to a “smear campaign.”
While Perkins’ point about Black coaching candidates being forced to live up to higher standards than white candidates is fair, it is tasteless for him to dismiss credible rape accusation against Billups, or Kidd’s unsavory history with domestic violence.
It is also ridiculous for Perkins to equate a domestic violence arrest or rape accusation with other mistakes people make in their early 20s.
“Will never forgive espn for forcing pundit kendrick perkins on america,” tweeted New York Times reporter Astead Herndon.
Perkins is far from the only person to endorse Billups and Kidd for head coaching jobs. Earlier this month, Damian Lillard threw his support behind both ex-players, though Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported Sunday the All-Star never suggested Billups and was unaware of the two-decade-old rape allegation.
Over the weekend, Lillard was arguing with Trail Blazers fans on Twitter over his reported Billups support. The backlash could drive him out of Portland, Haynes reports.
The Celtics reportedly identified Billups as a finalist for their coaching search, but hired Nets assistant Ime Udoka instead. Suffice to say, there was much less controversy around his hiring, though Jay Williams wrongly noted he will be the first Black head coach in team history.
We will see if Perkins offers a clarification on his polarizing take.