TNT analyst David Aldridge responded to the critics of his CNN.com article on NBA All-Star Weekend.
Many have called the story racist after reading the headline, “Black Thanksgiving commences in L.A. this weekend.”
“I’m hard pressed to see what was written that was inaccurate,” Aldridge told SportsNewser Sunday night following the NBA All-Star Game. “I don’t mind when people disagree but I want them to disagree based on what I actually wrote, not what they think I wrote or what someone told them I wrote. Read the article and if you still disagree with it, that’s fine. I was here last night after the Saturday night festivities and there were about 4,000 people walking around this area. Many of who had no tickets to anything. The point of the article was this is an opportunity for people to get together and see one another. Much like you do during a holiday period like Christmas and Thanksgiving. That was the point of the article. It wasn’t that all black people just want to have a party. It was that this is an opportunity for a lot of people to come together that don’t get to see each other very often. I wish people would read it and then make up their own minds.”
Aldridge is one of the classiest guys in the industry. The folks who are upset either haven’t been to NBA All-Star Weekend before or didn’t read past the headline.