Source: David Becker / Getty

Retired NBA player Stephen Jackson has never shied away from the gang ties he’s had since growing up in Texas, but he wants to clarify a few things now that Eugene ‘Big U’ Henley is facing RICO charges.

Big U —whose son is Los Angeles Chargers star Daiyan Henley— is an alleged gang member who’s been accused of making athletes check in upon entering Los Angeles, most notably Adrien Broner.

Notable folks often ensure street representatives are notified when they’re headed to their city to ensure their safety. But Jackson says that wasn’t the case a few years ago when he went viral while visiting Chicago’s Parkway Garden Homes. It’s commonly known as O’Block, a dangerous part of Chicago’s south side, and where rappers like Chief Keef, Lil Durk, and King Von.

While on Mike D’s One on One podcast, he clarified the moment, saying, “I’ll give a million dollars to anybody that you can find in O Block that said I checked in.”

Jackson explains the Chicago moment as a time when he was just in town for a Big3 tournament and decided to head to the neighborhood after a night of drinking.

“I ain’t no checking in n-gga, I pulled up on the young-ins! The problem is, everybody can’t go,” he said. “When I go places and there’s n-ggas that I love, I do check in,” he said. “I ain’t checking in for protection, I’m checking in to let a n-gga know ‘I’m in your state, let’s link up.’ I don’t need no protection. That’s out of respect.”

Jackson said he expects the same when old friends visit his hometown of Port Arthur, Texas.

After leading his high school to a state championship in his junior year, he left Port Arthur to play at Virginia basketball powerhouse Oak Hill. He’d later commit to the University of Arizona but was unable to attend due to poor grades. Eventually, he was noticed while playing a few pickup games with the Phoenix Suns, which led to him getting drafted by the team in 1997. He’d never actually play for them, but when he made a name for himself with the San Antonio Spurs, Atlanta Hawks, the Indiana Pacers, and the Golden State Warriors.

Now he’s one half of the sports podcast All The Smoke with Matt Barnes by his side.

See how social media’s reacting to Jackson’s latest podcast appearance below.