We told you on Saturday about the not-so-kind words that the Spurs’ Stephen Jackson posted to his Twitter account after Friday night’s game between the Lakers and the Thunder.
Serge Ibaka and Metta World Peace got tangled up late in the contest while battling for rebounding position, and this apparently reminded Jackson of similar encounters he’s had with Ibaka in the past.
So, naturally, he issued a warning to Ibaka as only Jackson could. Here it is, word for word, and exactly as Jackson spelled it out.
“Somebody tel serg Abaka. He aint bout dis life. Next time he run up on me im goin in his mouth. That’s a promise. He doin 2 much.”
The thoughts from Jackson come across as menacing at best, and threatening at worst.
Jackson posted an apology to his Instagram page on Sunday, the same place he posted a clarification after the initial remarks that this issue was personal between him and Ibaka, and wasn’t about defending his former teammate from his days in Indiana.
“I apologize to [Serge Ibaka], the NBA, and to all my fans for the comments I made. It was unprofessional and childish. I’m not a thug just a man who speaks his mind. It was not appropriate. I do apologize. Only a man can admit when he’s wrong.”
It’s impossible to know whether Jackson himself came to the conclusion that he erred in judgment, or whether someone he works with or an advisor let him know that the league might come down on him for this, and that posting an apology was a good idea. This one is written much more cleanly, and without any slang or spelling errors, so it’s probably not a stretch to guess that he may have had some assistance.
Either way, apologizing was the right thing to do. And we won’t have to wait very long to see if Jackson harbors any bad intentions, since the Spurs and the Thunder face each other on Dec. 17.