PHOENIX SUNS
Phoenix Suns

Lamar Odom criticises Phoenix Suns, claims gorilla mascot has racial connotations

The NBA franchise are under fire.

Lamar Odom
Lamar Odom

Former NBA star Lamar Odom has continued the criticism of the Phoenix Suns and their alleged racist tendencies.

After the ousting of former owner Robert Sarver for racist behaviour, the club has now come under fire for their mascot which has been deemed racist.

Two-time NBA champion Odom was recently on The Bootleg Kev Podcast, which is hosted by a Suns fan and the pair were discussing the current fortunes of the club on the court.

Odom then took the conversation in another direction as he turned the attention to the gorilla mascot that the Suns use at their games.

"I feel bad for the Suns fans because they ain't even gonna get what y'all probably deserve until, probably until you change the mascot," Odom said.

Bootleg Kev replied, "What does that mean? You don't like the gorilla? Do you think there's some racial connotations with the Suns gorilla?"

Odom then answered, "Come on, bro," before explaining his reasons.

"The thing that's funny is they kind of slid that one by for all these years," Odom said. "Nobody says anything about that.

"Gorillas, in the desert, you can't find any. You could probably find a cactus. ... In basketball, just like, come on, bro. But you know what's so, really crazy about it? They just tried it because they wanted to get the fans involved, and that's the reason why they kept it 'cause the fans loved it."

Odom then also made the link to Arizona being the last state to formally recognize Martin Luther King Day as a holiday.

The state did not do so until 1992 which is eight years after it had been made a federal holiday by the central government in Washington DC.

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