When NBA journeyman Stephen Jackson met George Floyd — a 6-foot-6 former basketball player himself — for the first time, the resemblance between the two of them was so striking that both men figured they might be related.
When NBA journeyman Stephen Jackson met George Floyd — a 6-foot-6 former basketball player himself — for the first time, the resemblance between the two was so striking that both figured they might be related.
“The first thing we both say: ‘Man, who’s your dad?'” Jackson told Marc Spears of ESPN’s The Undefeated on Monday, one week to the day since Floyd died after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes. “And just from that, from looking alike and from that day forward, we just had a bond; we became tight.”
The chance encounter through a mutual friend years ago in Houston led to a new nickname for Floyd — “twin” — and later to a new calling for Jackson as a vocal leader for the black community after he spoke at a rally for Floyd in the Twin Cities last week.
“How did I get this role?” Jackson said in an interview with Spears on Instagram Live. “Like, I’m honest with you, I did not expect to have the role and to have so many people waiting to see what I have to say and what’s the next move. Like, I didn’t ask to be in this position, but I’m embracing it. I’m embracing it.”
Jackson, who retired in 2014 after playing 14 seasons in the league and winning a ring with the San Antonio Spurs in 2003, has used his voice to transition to his role as co-host of the popular podcast “All the Smoke” with Matt Barnes on Showtime. But now he finds himself using that voice for social change.
“Right now, I’m 10 toes down and my only purpose is getting justice and being with these people and trying to be a good leader,” Jackson said, noting his unexpected visit to Minnesota to support Floyd’s family has stretched to five days.
In taking up the mantle as he has, Jackson has advice for those listening who want direction on how to act from here.
First, Jackson said, protesting peacefully is paramount — and that means being cognizant while demonstrating that there may be people out there trying to manipulate those protests to devolve into riots and looting.
“We got to be smarter and don’t fall for the trick bag,” Jackson said.
