Former lead guard of the “Michigan Fab Five” and NBA player Jalen Rose has never been afraid to express his opinion. The former first round pick of the Denver Nuggets is now a member of the “Inside The NBA” on ESPN cast alongside Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal.

Known for his strong opinions and vast basketball knowledge, the Detroit Michigan native shared a controversial take during a recent podcast appearance where he talked about salary caps in sports, and how he feels it’s racially motivated.

Jalen Rose Unleashes On Pro Sports’ Racial Double Standard

The 6-foot-8 point guard who provided the swagger to the “Fab Five” recently stopped by the “Joe and Jada Unfiltered” podcast. The topic that seemed to hit home was when Rose claimed that “only sports that have salary caps are Black led.”

Rose mentioned sports like MLB, NASCAR, golf and tennis do not have a salary cap.

“The second thing is they have no after high school restrictions,” he continued. “So, that’s a residue of slavery because we’re going to get money off of you for multiple years for free. There’s no way around it. So, what happened in the game, it became so obvious because of social media and because of information, it’s like ‘We’re making a billion dollars, we gotta pay them something.’ That’s how it ended up happening.”

MLB is set to have a battle about a hard cap. While the players are against it, the owners will definitely push for one in the next round of CBA talks.

Fans Chime In On Jalen Rose’s Slavery Take

Rose’s controversial comments quickly drew varying opinions from fans across multiple social media platforms.

“This is inaccurate. The mention of slavery is a personal interpretation, but it would have been great if all the other things he said were factual; they are not. The NHL has 3% black players, and it is hard-capped. So is every single sport in America,” a fan said.

“Interesting concept but I’d have to err on the side of overstated.  But that is interesting,” another fan said.

“NASCAR, golf and tennis are individual sports, there is no ‘salary’. A person’s earnings is based off of their performance each week. The whitest sport of all, HOCKEY, has the lowest salary of the 4 major sports. So that kills Jalen’s argument right there,” another fan quipped.

“I am pretty sure that vast majority of baseball fans would not have a problem with a salary cap,” another fan mentioned.

“A mind is a terrible thing to waste. Does Jalen know the sport of hockey has a salary cap? Does the Renaissance Man, his columnist name, know that the sport of baseball wants a cap too but the player’s union is the strongest by far of the major sports?” a fan spewed.

“Imagine having to pretend to be mad about slavery for the rest of your lives?” another fan said.

What’s Rose Doing Now?

When he’s not appearing on podcasts and giving his strong personal takes, Rose is not only immersed in his return to ESPN and sports media he’s also dabbling in some other ventures. He recently made his acting debut on a show called “South West High” on Tubi.

He also works with Same Page Entertainment as a producer and even serves as consulting producer on the Prime Video project “Meal Ticket.”

His continued philanthropic efforts will never go unnoticed as he’s very active in the Jalen Rose Academy, a charter school he founded in Detroit, Michigan.