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INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- LeBron James respected Phil Jacksons unmatched coaching accomplishments. That affection has vanished.Ive got nothing for him, James said Tuesday.James fired back at the 11-time coaching champion and current New York Knicks president for using the word posse in a recent interview to describe the NBA megastars business associates. James said he lost all respect for Jackson and his comments underline a larger societal issue for young African-Americans trying to succeed in business.In the interview, Jackson, 71, said James has always demanded preferential treatment and called his departure from Miami as a free agent a slap in the face to the Heat organization. Jackson recalled a time when James asked for the team to stay over in Cleveland while on a road trip, a request that put coach Erik Spoelstra in a bind.You cant hold up the whole team because you and your mom and your posse want to spend an extra night in Cleveland, Jackson said in the ESPN interview .The word posse struck a chord with James, who has surrounded himself with childhood friends during his career.Jacksons language also touched a flash point at a time of heightened racial tension in the country.We see the success that we have, but then there is always someone that lets you know how far we still have to go as African-Americans, James said Tuesday following the Cavaliers morning shootaround. I dont believe that Phil Jackson would have used that term if he was doing business with someone else and working with another team or if he was working with anybody in sports that was owning a team that wasnt African-American and had a group of guys around them that didnt agree with what they did.I dont think he would have called them a posse. But it just shows how far we have to go. But it wont stop us from doing what we need to do as a group. Ive put together a great team, Ive empowered some guys since I was a kid and weve all grown together and become one of the people that try to model after, so were not going to let Phil Jacksons comments stop us from doing what we need to do. It just gives us extra motivation. But its still sad, though, to see that people at the top always want to try to put guys in power down.James was offended by Jacksons flippant use of a term many find degrading.If you go and read the definition of what the word `posse is, its not what Ive built over my career, James said. Its not what I stand for. Its not what my family stands for.Cavs coach Tyronn Lue played for Jackson and said he doesnt recall him ever being racially insensitive. Lue also has no intention of brokering any communication between his former coach and star player, and said James has never asked for any special treatment.We treat everyone the same around here, Lue said.Along with close friends Maverick Carter, Rich Paul and Randy Mims, James has built a sports business empire. Among the groups most prominent successes are landing James a lifetime contract with Nike worth nearly $1 billion and launching a film and TV production company that has partnered with Warner Bros.Carter handles James business affairs while Paul serves as his agent -- and for several other top players -- and Mims works with the Cavs. They formed LRMR marketing shortly after James turned pro, and the 31-year-old three-time champion was criticized for surrounding himself with friends.Ive tried to put my guys in position to where they can walk in a meeting and go places and they dont need me because they got to a point where theyve done their homework, James said. Theyve studied on what they want to do and they can hold a meeting without me because of the respect that they have and the knowledge they have. Thats just 12 years of hard work and dedication that we put to each other. I know Phils in a position of power in our sport, but to criticize me and my guys over that is nonsense.The Cavs play the Knicks on Dec. 7 in Madison Square Garden, a game surely to be intensified by the Jackson-James drama. James seemed hurt someone of Jacksons stature would try to demean him.It seems like when my name is involved with other people thats helped build the game, its like, `How can we criticize what he does on and off the floor? instead of trying to help me, he said.James has been outspoken on social issues and doesnt intend to stop.My whole goal is while I have this platform and this muscle that I have right now is how can I better the youth that looks at me every single day and sees what I do and sees what I say and sees the way I walk and talk and what I wear and use it as a positive way to get out of the situation theyre in, he said. Im not going to be that guy that ever downplays somebody or tries to knock someone off just to feel better about myself. 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I dont know if I can quantify how far off or things like that that they might be but I would say we continue to have dialogue. (STATS) -- Liberty has made no effort to hide its desire to join an FBS conference and play with the big boys, a stance that was reignited this week when school president Jerry Falwell Jr. said the Flames might make the leap in a matter of months.Beating one of the premier teams in the FCS should make them a bit more attractive to potential suitors.Theres a golden opportunity to land a signature win Saturday against No. 3 Jacksonville State, the Ohio Valley Conference power that made it to the national championship game last season and the highest-ranked team that will have ever visited Lynchburgs Williams Stadium.Ive heard so much about the environment at Liberty, Gamecocks coach John Grass said. I think its one of the best in FCS football.Falwell Jr. is hoping the 27-year-old stadium will soon be one of the better -- albeit tinier, at 19,200 -- environments in the FBS. He announced in 2012 that the Flames (1-2) were ready to jump to the FBS, and though some brief flirtation with the Sun Belt never materialized, there could soon be a new opportunity. The Big 12 is currently considering expansion candidates -- a vote is possible as early as an Oct. 17 board meeting -- and the domino effect could leave either the American Athletic Conference or Conference USA looking for a new member or two.Grass team is coming off a 27-26 win over Coastal Carolina, another former Big South member thats making the move to the FBS. Following this transition season, the Chanticleers are off to the Sun Belt.We just talked about Coastal Carolinas budget and moving up; well, Liberty has the same kind of budget and wanting to move up, they are just waiting on a conference to take them, Grass said. They have the biggest budget in FCS football and maybe some of the lower level Power 5 schools, so they have a lot going on with their university and in the right direction.All that speculation has little meaning to Turner Gills current team, which is 0-for-2 against FBS schools in September after recording FBS wins in each of the past two seasons. The Flames are simply concentrating on finding a way back to the FCS playoffs, which they missed out on last season after making their inaugural tripp in 2014.ddddddddddddTheres an automatic path in by winning the Big South, but a victory over Jacksonville State could give them a reasonable chance of an at-large berth should they stumble. After Saturday, the schedule isnt exactly challenging until two games in six days in mid-November against Charleston Southern and Coastal Carolina.Its been great focus all week, Gill said. Im not saying its been a whole lot of rah-rah stuff, but paying attention to detail and a lot of great communication from teammate to teammate. When I see that, that tells me theyre focused and ready to go.As of Friday morning, Gill was still silent in naming a starting quarterback. Neither of his options have played well thus far. Junior Stephon Masha has thrown six interceptions in just 60 pass attempts, giving him an interception percentage thats the second highest in all of Division I. And though hes completed only 51.7 percent of his throws, thats 1.7 percent better than freshman Stephen Calvert, who saw his most extensive action yet in last Saturdays 29-14 loss to SMU.The Flames will need whichever signal caller is taking snaps to succeed through the air, because theyll likely find space hard to come by on the ground. LSU had success rushing against Jacksonville State, but Coastal Carolina gained just 42 yards on 35 carries.Theres no uncertainty under center for the Gamecocks (2-1). Eli Jenkins paved the way to the title game last season and despite a dip in accuracy through three games, hes still the driving force in an offense thats cracked 500 total yards against both of its non-FBS opponents.(Jenkins), in my mind, is no question one of the top players in the country, Gill said.There are four wins over FCS top-10 foes on Gills resume since arriving at Liberty in 2012 -- the Flames knocked off both Montana and Coastal in Lynchburg last season -- but theres a reason Jacksonville State heads north as a 9 1/2-point favorite in this one. The Gamecocks have lost only three regular-season games since Grass took over in 2014 -- to Michigan State, Auburn and LSU. ' ' '