Jay Williams, an NBA analyst for ESPN who starred for Duke in college, took issue with the sports world using the term “Mount Rushmore” to describe the best of the best.
Williams pushed back on Stephen A. Smith’s claim that if Stephen Curry defeated LeBron James in their playoff series this year, then the Golden State Warriors star could knock James off the NBA’s Mount Rushmore. However, he was unhappy with the Mount Rushmore verbiage mostly.
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Jay Williams looks on during the 2020 NBA Draft on Nov. 18, 2020 in Bristol, Connecticut at ESPN Headquarters. (Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
“Can we first off just stop with the Mount Rushmore talk,” he said, via Awful Announcing. “They’re not even the four best presidents this country has ever had. Everyone in this room was not even able to vote. I just want to say that off the top. That’s our metric for success? That’s our king?”
Williams’ colleague Jalen Rose gave a similar take in August.
FLASHBACK: ‘MOUNT RUSHMORE’ TERM IS ‘OFFENSIVE’ AND SHOULD BE ‘RETIRED,’ ESPN’S JALEN ROSE SAYS
Rose went as far to say that using “Mount Rushmore” is “offensive.” He said he wanted to cancel the term because the monument was built “on top of dead bodies” of Native Americans whose land was taken from them.
ESPN Analyst, Jay Williams smiles before the game between the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks during Game Three of the 2021 NBA Finals on July 11, 2021 at the Fiserv Forum Center in Milwaukee. (Kena Krutsinger/NBAE via Getty Images)
“Can we retire using Mount Rushmore? That should be offensive to all of us, especially Native Americans, Indigenous people who were the first people here before Christopher Columbus,” Rose said in a video he tweeted. “That land was stolen from them when it was discovered that it contained gold.
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Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, #30, celebrates with forward Draymond Green after the Warriors defeated the Sacramento Kings in Game 4 in the first round of the NBA basketball playoffs in San Francisco, Sunday, April 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
“And 25 years later, to add insult to injury, four American presidents were put on what we call Mount Rushmore on the top of the dead bodies that is buried right underneath. So, I call for you and for myself — I’m owning this, too — let’s stop using the term Mount Rushmore when we’re talking about our favorite rappers, talking about our favorite movies, talking about our favorite players.”
Fox News’ Ryan Morik contributed to this report.
