New Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick is denying an accusation made by a woman named Halleemah Nash, who claims he called her the N-word while the two were present on the Duke University campus.
Nash, who is a Social Impact Pro and Lakers fan, per her X bio, and is the founder of a company called Rosecrans Ventures, according to her LinkedIn profile, posted the accusation on Tuesday morning.
“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 was formally introduced as the franchise’s 29th HC on Monday after much speculation, rumors and unexpected pursuits. Although neither he nor the Lakers have publicly addressed Nash’s claim at time of print, the former NBA guard and 2006 College Player of the Year with Duke is repudiating the serious allegation.
“No, it never happened,” a spokesperson for Redick told TMZ. This is obviously not the type of attention the organization wants after officially entering a new era of Lakers basketball. Fans will be eager to see what kind of reaction management has to this claim.
Redick had previously been accused of calling his ex-girlfriend racial slurs via email over a decade ago. He vehemently denied doing so.
The longtime 3-point specialist also appeared to say a Chinese racial slur in a video that featured several NBA players wishing the country a happy Chinese New Year in 2018. Redick said that he changed his message mid-sentence, which caused the words to come out as if he was making the offensive remark. He claims to have had no intention of uttering a slur.
The Cookeville, Tennessee native soared to stardom while leading the Duke Blue Devils from 2002-06. Although he did not win a national championship, Redick is considered a program legend and one of the best college basketball players of his generation.
He catapulted his prolific tenure in Durham, North Carolina to a solid NBA career, landing 20th on the all-time 3-point field goals list while shooting the long ball at 41.5 percent across 15 seasons. He charged onto the podcast scene after retirement and later transitioned to broadcasting, making a big name for himself in both industries.
Following his latest project with LeBron James and coverage of the NBA Playoffs for ESPN and ABC, JJ Redick is hoping to succeed as an NBA head coach. He has been linked to other teams in the past and now looks to guide the Lakers back to a path towards title contention.
With the NBA Draft starting on Wednesday and free agency getting underway a few days later, Redick will have a lot on his plate in his first week as head coach. That being said, Halleemah Nash’s accusation is bound to draw some sort of public response from him.
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