Leftover beef from Mark Jackson’s time as the Warriors head coach has cost him a job on the Knicks’ broadcasting team, according to a report from the New York Post.
Andrew Marchand reported Wednesday that “an old quarrel with Jackson and an assistant coach” ended an arrangement where the former ESPN color commentator planned to fill in for MSG Networks’ Clyde Frazier this season. The Knicks reportedly also wouldn’t allow Jackson to be “on the team plane, hotel, or team bus,” a decision that team president Leon Rose made, according to the Post.
The beef in question dates back to 2014, and involves current Knicks assistant Darren Erman, who was with the Warriors nine years ago. Erman was abruptly fired late in the season for “violation of company policy,” according to a team statement at the time. It was later revealed that the specific “violation” was an alleged three-week stretch of recording meetings with coaches and players without their knowledge. Jackson called the incident “inexcusable” in a May 2014 radio interview, which took place one day after Jackson was fired by the Warriors.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
The ESPN report of the incident implied the possibility that Erman could have been sharing his recordings with upper management. While that was never confirmed, the tension between Jackson and the Warriors’ brass was well documented.
“Part of it was that he couldn’t get along with anybody else in the organization,” owner Joe Lacob said of Jackson in Dec. 2014. “And look, he did a great job, and I’ll always compliment him in many respects, but you can’t have 200 people in the organization not like you.”
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad