JJ Redick Denies Black Woman's Accusation That He Called Her 'The N Word to My Face' at Duke

The allegation was made a day after Redick was hired as the new Lakers head coach.

June 26, 2024

Rob Pelinka speaking into a microphone and Darvin Ham seated at a Los Angeles Lakers press conference backdrop with sponsor logos

Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

JJ Redick has denied calling a black woman the N-word while he was a student at Duke University.

On Tuesday, Halleemah Nash posted a tweet where she recalled a time on campus when Redick allegedly threw the racial slur at her. According to Nash, she was working with the Duke's men's basketball team when Redick called her the N-word.

"I've only been called the N word to my face by a white man once in my life and it was on the campus of Duke University while I was doing work with the basketball team," Nash wrote. "And today he was named the new head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. What a world."

She added, “For context, this was years ago and Im a believer that we all have space to grow- especially from our college level maturity. We live in a world where these exchanges happen and the intersection of race and privilege and lack of accountability all collided w/that presser.”

TMZ reports that it "reached out to Redick's camp" to get a response to the accusation.

"No, it never happened," a spokesperson told the outlet.

It's worth noting that Redick once used a racial slur while wishing Chinese fans a happy new year in a promo video in 2018. Redick issued an apology where he claimed to be "tongue-tied" and that the "word I purportedly said is not in my vocabulary."

Halleemah Nash's LinkedIn page says she's the founder of Rosecrans Ventures, a professional development solutions company, and attended Duke from 2002-2005.

Redick was a star on the men's basketball team from 2002-2006. His time at Duke University made him a college basketball legend, setting multiple NCAA and ACC conference records with excellent three-point and free-throw shooting. Redick was also the 2006 national college basketball player of the year and had his No. 4 jersey retired at Duke.

Redick was recently hired as the new head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. It's his first professional coaching job, and people have questioned whether his good friend and podcast partner LeBron James had something to do with his hiring.