Stephen Jackson checking in with Chicago O-Block gangsters gets NBA fans talking: “Checking in with teenagers”

Former NBA player and "All The Smoke" podcast host Stephen Jackson has been catching flak from basketball fans of late

Stephen Jackson checking in with Chicago O-Block gangsters gets NBA fans talking: “Checking in with teenagers”

Stephen Jackson (Image via his Instagram)

Former NBA player and “All The Smoke” podcast host Stephen Jackson has been catching flak from basketball fans of late. This can be linked to the resurfacing of some of his old antics on social media related to gang culture. A recent news report on former boxer Adrian Broner extorting NBA players to the tune of over $6.5 million on dice games and for extorting some players ‘checking in’ to certain localities in conjunction with known gangster Big U has brought this phenomenon about.

“Checking in” refers to a practice in some street cultures where outsiders contact or pay respect to local gang members or influential figures to ensure safe passage or acceptance in their territory. There is no definitive, documented evidence of a specific encounter between Stephen Jackson and Big U (Eugene Henley, a well-known Los Angeles Crip figure). However, in light of the recently unveiled accusations against Broner, it is pertinent to look at why “Stak” is being linked to Big U.

YouTube video

In June 2022, Stephen Jackson visited O Block, a notorious area on the 6400 block of South Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Chicago, known for its association with the Black Disciples gang faction and rappers like Chief Keef and King Von.

FS Video

During this visit, Jackson recorded a video, proudly declaring he was “in the middle of O Block” and emphasizing that he “checked in with the real ones.” He boasted about wearing his jewelry and being welcomed, stating, “You can’t come out here if you don’t check in with the locals… We do this sh*t the G way! We under the old law, not the new law.”

YouTube video

Henley, on his part, has denied all the accusations being thrown his way.

I never made no athlete, no rapper give me nothing. They reach out to me because they feel a connection to me and my neighborhood for whatever reason.

Big U said in an interview with Genius

Jackson’s old clip seems to be more than enough fodder for elements on NBA Twitter to pass judgment on his affiliations to gang culture. To be completely fair to netizens, the news reports around Big U and Jackson’s past antics make him an easy target.

NBA fans roast Stephen Jackson after Adrian Broner-Big U news story breaks

NBA fans took to their Twitter fingers to lambast Stephen Jackson for his association with Big U. Many fans called him out for essentially getting finessed by hood representatives for easy money. Fans implied that Jackson was more than happy to be handing out money while checking into violence-infested areas like Chicago’s O-Block to attain legitimacy with gangsters and looking for meaningless clout.

As a prominent advocate for Black Lives Matter and one of the leading protesters in the aftermath of George Floyd’s extrajudicial killing, Jackson should indeed have known better than to associate with more violent elements of society. Both social media and regular news media typically hold black athletes to higher standards of behavior. Jackson associating himself with gang members and ‘checking in’ with them in the political environment that he did is simply inviting ridicule unto himself.

This is also far from the only time Jackson has had fans on his head. Jackson has also been roasted in the aftermath of his beef with Kwame Brown in 2021. His propensity to make foot-in-mouth comments and feature in such moments could truly be his undoing.