“First Take” host Molly Qerim issued an apology Wednesday after a colleague claimed that “80%” of the NBA’s MVP voter panel is white.
Former NBA player Kendrick Perkins got into a heated argument with fellow commentator JJ Redick on Tuesday over whether the league’s MVP voters favorite Nikola Jokic because he’s white, and claimed that the overwhelming majority of MVP voters are themselves white. Qerim was forced to issued an apology during Wednesday’s episode, noting that the voter panel “is much more diverse” than what Perkins portrayed. (RELATED:Former NBA Sharp-Shooter JJ Redick Dismisses ‘Racism’ Narrative To Kendrick Perkins’ Face)
“I want to correct something here from yesterday’s show, when Kendrick Perkins said 80% of NBA voters for the MVP Award are white,” Qerim said Wednesday. “The league publicly announces the voters each year, and after review it is clear that the panel is much more diverse than what was portrayed by Kendrick Perkins and we wanted to make sure that we corrected that.”
Perkins listed on “First Take” last week the three NBA players to win the MVP while not being the league’s top 10 for scoring. Each of the players – Nikola Jokic, Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash – happened to be white, and Perkins insinuated that they won the award due to their race. (RELATED:Former NBA Sharp-Shooter JJ Redick Dismisses ‘Racism’ Narrative To Kendrick Perkins’ Face)
I hope Kendrick Perkins apologizes for implying that there’s racial bias in NBA MVP voting based on the misinformation he claimed as “facts” yesterday. First Take correcting him publicly is a good step, but the damage done is irreversible at this point. pic.twitter.com/3gV3aGjgRg
— WADE 🏀 (@Its_Wade) March 8, 2023
“What do those guys have in common? I’ll let it sit there and marinate. You think about it,” Perkins said.