Richard Jefferson uses ‘professionalism’ to prop up Karl Malone

When you think of Karl Malone, the words “professionalism” and “role model” aren’t exactly at the forefront of your mind. But for Richard Jefferson, that’s apparently where the conversation starts.

During a recent debate about the best NBA player to never win a championship, Kendrick Perkins went with Charles Barkley. Tracy McGrady’s name was thrown into the mix. But Jefferson picked ‘The Mailman,’ and his reasoning was rooted in what he called Malone’s “level of professionalism.”

“The reason why I would pick Karl Malone over Charles is because of the level of professionalism that Karl Malone always approached,” Jefferson said on his Road Trippin’ pod. “Karl Malone also had a top-five point guard — wherever you want to rank him — in John Stockton next to him.”

“So when I look at Karl Malone, with Charles when he was in Philly, he was in and out of shape, and then he would, you know, some of his off-the-court partying that we knew about…I’m saying Charles was a rebel. He’s not a role model. So I’m not taking shots at him. But I’m saying, when you look at a guy like Karl Malone, who trained for eight hours a day, he played for 19 years. He was second in scoring. And if his body would have held up, he probably would have been the all-time leading scorer.”

According to Jefferson, Malone maximized his talent, took care of his body, and had a relentless approach to the game that Barkley didn’t, which gives him the nod as the best player never to win a ring.

Suppose that’s where the argument ended, fine. We’ve heard far worse takes. But Jefferson didn’t leave it there. He brought Barkley’s off-the-court lifestyle into it. And once you open that door, you’re no longer just talking about basketball. You’re making it a conversation about who these men were beyond the game.

Which brings us back to Karl Malone.

It’s one thing to praise Malone’s work ethic and durability. It’s another to frame him as some paragon of professionalism while ignoring the fact that, off the court, Malone’s actions were morally indefensible. The man impregnated a 12-year-old girl when he was in college. He fathered children he refused to acknowledge or support, including former NFL offensive lineman Demetress Bell.

This is the kind of thing that made people uncomfortable when the NBA rolled Malone out for the 2023 All-Star Game in Utah. It’s not about “cancel culture.” It’s about refusing to pretend that winning basketball games or doing push-ups at 6 a.m. erases the very real harm a person caused. Celebrating someone’s greatness on the court while pretending the rest doesn’t exist isn’t the current era of sports media we’re in. Especially not when you’re holding up “professionalism” as the reason one guy is better than another.

“Karl Malone was about his business,” said Jefferson. “He worked his ass off, and just wasn’t able to get it done.”

Maybe so. But if you’re going to bring “off-the-court behavior” into the conversation, then you have to be ready for everything that comes with it. And in Malone’s case, it’s a lot darker than partying a little too much.