ESPN has recently issued an apology after a controversial claim from analyst Kendrick Perkins who alleged that the NBA MVP voting is racist.
Kendrick Perkins is often known for his hot takes but he came up with one of his hottest ones till date as he questioned the MVP voting system. With the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic on his way to a third consecutive Most Valuable Player award, Perkins questioned the voting system and called it out for having a racial bias – which did not go down well amongst many people.
The Serbian Jokic averaged a double-double in his MVP seasons over the last two years. The Denver star is currently averaging 24.4 points, 11.8 rebounds and 10 assists and is well on his way to another MVP award. However, according to Perkins, he does not deserve it.
Perkins said that only three players since 1990 have won an MVP despite being outside the top 10 in points per game: Jokic in his first MVP campaign in 2020-21, Dirk Nowitzki (2006-07) and Steve Nash (2004-05, 2005-06). “What do those guys have in common? I’ll let it sit there and marinate. You think about it,” he recently said on ESPN’s “First Take”, testing co-host Stephen A. Smith.
The insinuation did not go down well amongst many, and ESPN have not sat quietly since.
What has ESPN done since the advent of the controversy?
Since Perkins alleged that a majority of the MVP voters are white last week, ESPN have issued an apology.
First Take co-host Molly Qerim began Wednesday’s episode of the popular sports debate show with a statement correcting Perkins’ comments on Tuesday that 80% of NBA MVP voters where white, claiming it was a fact.
“I want to correct something here from yesterday’s show,” Qerim started off. “When Kendrick Perkins said 80% of NBA voters for the MVP award are white, the NBA publicly announces the voters each year, and after review, it is clear the panel is much more diverse than what was portrayed by Kendrick Perkins and we wanted to make sure we corrected that today.”
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