Kendrick Perkins Defends Chauncey Billups, Jason Kidd on 'First Take'

Over the weekend, Chauncey Billups and Jason Kidd were hired as the new head coaches for the Portland Trail Blazers and Dallas Mavericks, respectively. The news was met with some outcry from both fanbases due to criminal cases in each former NBA player's pasts; Kidd plead guilty to spousal abuse in the early 2000s and to DWI in 2012, while Billups was accused of sexually assaulting a woman with two other individuals in 1997. Billups settled the case in a civil suit in 2000.

It was a topic of discussion on ESPN today. Kendrick Perkins and Domonique Foxworth were on First Take to talk about it. Perkins defended the pair, saying that their criminal cases were not issues when they were making money for the league and that everyone has made decisions they've regretted. Perkins also made it clear that he felt this is what happens when a Black man gets into a position of power like a head coaching job in the NBA.

When Perkins tweeted out the segment, he emphatically said that Billups was investigated and cleared in his criminal case, while Kidd has "learned" from his past issues and the articles published in the wake of their hirings come across as smear campaigns.

It is worth noting that Billups was not cleared in his sexual assault case. No criminal charges were filed, and as noted above Billups ultimately settled with his accuser for an undisclosed sum.