Phil Mushnick, NY Post Writer: Brooklyn Nets Should Be Called 'New York N-----s' Because Of Jay-Z Ownership

A New York sportswriter is in hot water after writing that the Brooklyn Nets should change their name to the "New York N------s" because they are co-owned by Jay-Z.

Phil Mushnick, who writes for the New York Post, has apparently been a long-time critic of the rapper's role in the franchise. In a Friday column, he trashed Jay-Z's choices for the team's new uniforms:

As long as the Nets are allowing Jay-Z to call their marketing shots -- what a shock that he chose black and white as the new team colors to stress, as the Nets explained, their new "urban" home -- why not have him apply the full Jay-Z treatment?

Why the Brooklyn Nets when they can be the New York N------s? The cheerleaders could be the Brooklyn B----hes or Hoes. Team logo? A 9 mm with hollow-tip shell casings strewn beneath. Wanna be Jay-Z hip? Then go all the way!

UPDATE: Mushnick responded to the furore surrounding his column later on Friday. Writing to sports site Bob's Blitz, he said that there had been "obvious, wishful and ignorant mischaracterizations" of his words.

"Jay-Z profits from the worst and most sustaining self-enslaving stereotypes of black-American culture and I'M the racist?" he continued. "Some truths, I guess, are just hard to read, let alone think about."

Unsurprisingly, Twitter erupted over the comments. Below, read a few of the reactions to Mushnick's rant.

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• Jason McIntyre

• Questo of The Roots

• Anna Holmes

• Jason Linkins

• Peter Kafka

• Yoni Appelbaum

• Jason O. Gilbert

• Tobin Oommen

• Kieran Frail

• Makin Chapman

• Randi

• Matt Dollinger

• Dan Levy

• Steve Mosco

• Jamil Smith

• Alyssa Rosenberg

• Jimmy Traina

• Anthony Morrow

• Keith Olbermann

• Steve Krakauer