If there is one thing Stephen Jackson guarantees, is that certain NBA superstars get preferential treatment. He is the living example of how the league react different depending on which player is committing the action, as was his case when he requested a trade out of Golden State back in 2009. 

Back then, the former athlete was fined $25,000 for publicly talking about his desire to be traded out of California. What really angered him wasn’t the fact that he lost money, but more due to the fact that there was a clear double standard. “Kobe [Bryant] said the same thing two years ago and didn’t get a fine, but we’re not going to beat a dead horse,” he said.

“I mean, you gotta hear it some way,” Stephen shared the story, defending how he decided to demand a trade request. “You want me to send you an e-mail, Facebook or something? I’m a grown man, I have six kids, I’m married now, so I speak my mind.”

As you can see in the video below, that wasn’t the only time Jackson was traded out for being too public about his thoughts:

At the time, ESPN reported how “some Warriors executives and fans were caught off guard” by the player’s desire to leave after two and a half years in the Bay Area. Eventually, the former basketball player opened up about the real reasons behind his wish to leave.

“It feels like we’re not getting better. It’s no disrespect to guys on the team. I love all the guys on the team and I’m not saying the job couldn’t get done with them, but at the same time I came into this game a winner and I want to continue to be a winner,” he recalled at the time.

As for Kobe, the icon had already been part of a successful run with the Lakers, and he grew frustrated with the fact that the organization declined to give him the conditions and support he needed to continue to play at the highest level.

“I would like to be traded. And as tough as it is to say that, as tough as it is to come to that conclusion, there’s no other alternative,” Bryant publicly expressed to Stephen A. Smith during an interview in 2007, and received no punishment for his actions.

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