Phil Jackson Dabbles in Comedy, Gay Jokes

by Marcel Mutoni

The Zen Master has been known to crack a joke from time to time; while often insensitive and deeply hurtful, his quips are usually hilarious. And yesterday, friends, was no different.

During his pregame Pow-wow with reporters, Jackson was presented with yet another question about the nuances of the Triangle Offense (something or other about penetration; look, I wasn’t really paying attention, OK?), and Phil decided to add some spice to the proceedings:

“We call this a ‘Brokeback Mountain’ game, because there’s so much penetration and kickouts,” Jackson said. “It was one of those games.”

Yuck Yuck!

While some are up in arms over this, I happen to find it quite hilarious. Had he referenced some raunchy film featuring two straight people, it would have driven the point home and perhaps even drawn a few chuckles, but it wouldn’t have been memorable, and I surely wouldn’t be blogging about it.

The League thinks Jackson’s comments were in poor taste, but they’re missing the point entirely. Phil wasn’t being homophobic; the guy simply made a sex joke but just happened to reference a movie featuring two secretly gay dudes. This is controversial? What year is this again?

(Phil’s “apology” for his remarks is awesome.)