Former Jazz guard Elijah Millsap accused team executive Dennis Lindsey of using racist language during his 2015 exit interview.
Dennis Lindsey, the Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Utah Jazz, was accused of making a racist statement to a player on Wednesday.
Elijah Millsap, a former guard for the Jazz, posted a thread on Twitter alleging Lindsey used racist language during his 2015 exit interview with head coach Quin Snyder.
Lindsey was Utah’s GM in 2015, but he was promoted to his new position as an executive in 2019.
Along with the specific allegation against Lindsey, Millsap wrote about “bigot behavior” being “exposed and expunged.”
“Controlling my narrative, and will teach my sons how to stand up and control their own,” he added. “Inspired by the courageous souls who fight for racial equality and social justice daily.”
Elijah Millsap’s allegations of racist language are serious for the Jazz exec
The Jazz have dealt with concerning incidents related to race recently. In 2019, Lindsey apologized to Thunder GM Sam Presti and Oklahoma City after a fan in the stands verbally abused Russell Westbrook.
“People may say, ‘Hey, whatever, what the fan said was a small thing.’ Well, it’s not. What it does is make everyone feel small, and every Caucasian should take a look at themselves and look at their heart,” Lindsey told USA Today at the time.
Here’s another noteworthy quote from that piece: “Let’s just talk about our national sin and how we made a race of people feel a certain way and just listen for a second.”
The NBA community will be listening closely to Lindsey’s response to Millsap’s statements considering his prior statements.
Millsap is the brother of Paul Millsap, who also played for the Jazz. However, he left the team in 2013 before this alleged incident occurred. The younger Millsap played for Utah during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons before being waived. He signed with the Suns but only appeared in two games with the team.