Stephen Jackson and Gayle King

Stephen Jackson and Gayle King

Retired NBA player Stephen Jackson shared his thoughts on TV personality and journalist Gayle King, who recently told South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley that she was rooting for Iowa and Caitlin Clark in the NCAAW title game.

Jackson, a former NBA champion who is worth $20 million (via Celebrity Net Worth) criticized King, saying that she “disrespected” Staley with her comment:

“So, Gayle King’s supposed to be somebody that’s big in the journalism space, right? And I don’t consider [her] black media. Y’all give her all these passes [sic] because she’s Oprah’s friend. I don’t give a f— whose friend she is. But you cannot demean Dawn Staley like that.”

Jackson continued:

“You’re talking to her about winning the championship, about going undefeated. And you had the nerve to get on there and say, we was rooting for Caitlin Clark and you broke everybody’s hearts. Who is we? All the black people [were] rooting for Dawn Staley. We’re all fans of Caitlin Clark, but the way you put it, that sh*t was trash.”

Jackson was referring to a CBS Mornings interview with South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley, a day after the Gamecocks won the national championship. In the interview, Gayle King asked Staley:

“Was there ever a point in the game when you were worried? Cause I got worried? We were all cheering for Iowa, of course, and Caitlin Clark, but for so many people you got their hearts.”

Staley responded that she was never worried about the game and explained their strategy for their comeback after being down by double-digits early.

Dawn Staley has nothing but love for Caitlin Clark

After South Carolina won the national championship, Staley gave Iowa and Clark props. In an interview on CNBC with her former player Kamilla Cardoso, the Gamecocks head coach called Caitlin Clark a “superstar” and gushed about her impact on the women’s game:

“Caitlin Clark is a superstar. I credit her with raising the level, we’re creating more eyeballs on our sport, and we need to thank her for that. People think I’m being facetious when I say that, I’m not. I’m all for the greater good of our game, if she’s a big part of it, we need to find the next superstar that will take our game to the next level.”