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Charles Oakley is straight-up confused about why the Brooklyn Nets hired Steve Nash as their new head coach … when there are so many other qualified coaches with actual coaching experience!
The NY Knicks legend didn’t beat around the bush when we asked him about the Nash hiring … telling us straight up, “We need more Black coaches in the NBA.”
Oakleys says like everyone else in the NBA world, he had no idea Nash was even interested in a coaching gig … “but that’s how the world is.”
“People hire their friends, people that they believe in. Somebody must believe in Steve Nash, a great player.”
But, Oakley says there are plenty of Black coaches — like Mark Jackson, Pete Myers and Jason Kidd — who have been waiting for jobs … and got beat out because “this guy comes out of the blue.”
“That goes to show you we’re still behind the 8 ball,” Oak says … “That’s what we’re trying to fight for, equal opportunity.”
“Hopefully, We can get more Black coaches in the NBA because it’s a Black league. We should have more Black coaches. More Black owners and GMs.”
In case you’re wondering, in the 2018-19 season, roughly 82% of NBA players were people of color, according to an ESPN report.
Oakley — who just joined the new season of “Dancing with the Stars” — says the level of coaching in the NBA playoffs has been bad … and it’s about time teams upgrade to people who have a legit resume.