Less than 48 hours into his tenure as head coach of the Lakers, JJ Redick is already facing controversy.
Redick was a star basketball player at Duke before his 15-year career in the NBA.
Halleemah Nash, who is an author, speaker, and Duke alum took to X with an allegation against Redick.
“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,” she said. “And today he was named the new head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. What a world.”
Redick and his people have flat out denied the allegation.
TMZ Sports reached out to him for a response and a spokesperson told the outlet, “No, it never happened”.
Redick has never coached in the NBA and retired from the league in 2021.
He started working as an NBA analyst for ESPN shortly after and was the lead analyst for the 2024 NBA Finals on ABC.
“This process has been surreal, to say the least,” Redick said. “I take this responsibility very seriously … The Lakers have some of the most passionate fans around the world, and the expectation is a championship, and so it’s my job to deliver a championship-caliber team. That’s what I signed up for.
“I just felt like this is what I’m supposed to be doing. I have zero coaching experience in the NBA, but I would argue that I’m very experienced. It started 22 years ago when I went to Duke.”
Redick already confirmed that the podcast that he and LeBron James started together will not be continuing as he takes on one of the most difficult coaching jobs in the NBA.
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