Amar'e Stoudemire on Anti-Semitic Rhetoric: Black Community Lacks Leadership

Former NBA forward Amar'e Stoudemire told TMZ Sports that there is "not a lot of leadership" in the African American community amid Philadelphia Eagles wideout DeSean Jackson and ex-NBA player Stephen Jackson posting anti-Semitic remarks.

"Amongst the African American community, there's not a lot of leadership," Stoudemire said.

"So, they gravitate to a leadership factor that help keep people off the streets, right? So, [Louis Farrakhan] is seen as one of their leaders in their African American community.

"But, I do think, I know with me being in the position where I am where being an African American Jew who's learning at a high level, I think there's a narrative shift that's happening."

"We have to figure out a way to now teach the next generation on positivity."

Stoudemire, who converted to Judaism, currently plays for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball League. The 37-year-old big man played in the NBA from 2002-2016.

Stoudemire's remarks were also in reference to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, whose quotes were shared by DeSean Jackson. Farrakhan has a long history of making anti-Semitic comments, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

Stoudemire added: "There's more similarities with the African Americans and Jewish people than there are differences. I went over a few of them—the Holocaust and the transatlantic slave trade. There's post-traumatic stress between both from those events. Think about all the persecution, it's always the Jews or the Blacks."

"You look at the situation, and they both are Semitic people," he continued. "There's so much similarities here. ... You know what it is? It's lack of education."

Stoudemire's comments come amid the ongoing social justice movement sparked by the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man who died in Minneapolis police custody May 25.

Many current and former athletes have taken part in protests or spoken out over the past month-and-a-half in an effort to combat systemic racism, police brutality and social injustice.