Shaquille O'Neal Fires Back At Scottie Pippen's Remarks On Phil Jackson: "He Is Definitely Not A Racist."

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Scottie Pippen has made all the headlines lately but for the worst reasons. He's gotten into a social media beef with Kevin Durant, called out Charles Barkley as a fake tough guy, took shots at Michael Jordan, and went as far as to call Phil Jackson a racist.

Pippen resented Jackson for drawing up a play for Toni Kukoc - who was a better shooter than Pippen - on the year the Bulls made the playoffs without Michael Jordan.

Scottie felt like he should've gotten that chance and even refused to come into the game. Now, decades later, he said that the decision was race-related:

"I don’t think it’s a mystery, you need to read between the fine lines. It was my first year playing without Michael Jordan, why wouldn’t I be taking that last shot? I been through all the ups and downs, the battles with the Pistons and now you gonna insult me and tell me to take it out? I thought it was a pretty low blow. I felt like it was an opportunity to give [Kukoc] a rise. It was a racial move to give him a rise. After all I’ve been through with this organization, now you're gonna tell me to take the ball out and throw it to Toni Kukoc? You’re insulting me. That’s how I felt," Pippen said.

That prompted countless criticism around social media. In fact, even Shaquille O'Neal shared his thoughts on the matter, claiming that Phil Jackson is by no means a racist person:

“I don’t want to get involved in other people’s beef, but Phil is definitely not a racist. What he said about Barkley makes a lot of sense, but he’s coming out with a new drink and a new book. Maybe this is all marketing,” Shaq said, as quoted by FanSided.

Pippen is currently promoting his new book and bourbon so perhaps this is all a publicity stunt. If that the case, then this is even worse.