MIAMI – Former Utah guard Elijah Millsap said Friday that he has not yet heard from any investigators about his allegation that Jazz executive Dennis Lindsey made a fanatical comment during a meeting end of season in 2015.
Millsap also expressed doubt that a fair investigation could be conducted into his claim that Lindsey, who was then general manager of the team and is now executive vice president, threatened to cut his “black ass” and send it home.
Millsap he made the allegation in a tweet Wednesday. The Jazz responded Thursday, saying in a statement that they would file outside attorneys to conduct a thorough investigation along with the NBA.
“Obviously, I know my truth,” Millsap said in an interview with The Associated Press. “Some outside counselors or someone, all they can do is try to remove it and make me look like I’m lying. I did it basically to free myself from the torture of keeping things going, to free myself, not making Dennis Lindsey feel bad and not making him look like a racist. I don’t think he’s a racist, but I know what he told me. “
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver confirmed the league’s participation Friday.
“We take allegations of discrimination seriously, so we also take defendants’ legal rights, which is why we do thorough investigations, ”Silver said. “And in this case, the research is being conducted in collaboration and coordination with the Utah Jazz.”
Millsap played 67 games for the Jazz for two seasons. The incident in question came from an April 2015 outing meeting, at which Millsap, Paul Millsap’s brother, a longtime prominent in Utah, said he was also attended by Jazz coach Quin Snyder .
CEO Justin Zanik, who was then a deputy general in charge of keeping detailed notes of the conversation, was also at the meeting, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. These notes were entered into a team database and will be examined as part of the investigation, sources said.
Millsap said he remembers being “high-energy” entering that meeting and wanting to hear what Lindsey and Snyder would say to him.
“I was expecting a great comment,” Millsap said. “And then it took a turn for the worse.”
Millsap said Lindsey told him, “If you say one more word, I’ll cut your black ass and send you back to Louisiana.”
Millsap met with reporters shortly after leaving the meeting with Snyder and Lindsey and showed no sign of being upset. Jazz resigned in January 2016, a day before the rest of this season’s contract had been secured, he said. These moves are not uncommon with unsecured offers.
Lindsey declined to comment. Snyder has said he doesn’t remember what happened and defended Lindsey again on Friday before the Jazz played in Miami.
“I’ve never heard anything remotely close to Dennis,” Snyder said. “I haven’t heard anything, like I said, very close to that and I know him and his character. And I also think that if something like that was said, I’m sensitive to those issues and I would remember it.”
Millsap appeared in two more NBA games after the Jazz resigned and said he believes the team didn’t speak well of him when other teams asked about his lineup. He said he still works several hours a day and would like to resume his career as a player.
Millsap said he has no specific resolution to satisfy him.
“These guys, they had a chance to tell people the truth about who they were,” Millsap said. “And they didn’t. I hate that.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.