People Unhappy SLAM Cover Says Cooper Flagg 'Pledges Allegiance To The Brotherhood' At Duke

The internet is fired up over a simple headline for Cooper Flagg's commitment to Duke.

Flagg is the top recruit in America, and will likely be a heavy favorite to be the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

He announced his decision Monday to commit to Duke, and as OutKick's Mark Harris pointed out, he's cut from the same mold as every other hateable Blue Devils player.

However, his commitment wasn't the only thing that generated some attention. SLAM tweeted a magazine cover for the commitment that featured the line "COOPER FLAGG PLEDGES ALLEGIANCE TO THE BROTHERHOOD."

SLAM dragged for Cooper Flagg headline.

Due to the fact we live in very stupid times, people immediately had to make it a racial issue, even though it's just a vanilla headline.

People need to take a chill pill and relax. There is nothing wrong with SLAM's headline. A brotherhood doesn't have any ties to race.

The military is a brotherhood, fraternities at colleges are brotherhoods, sports teams can be a brotherhood and there are certainly a lot more examples.

Not only that, Duke very *literally* advertises its basketball program as a brotherhood. SLAM is using the program's own language.

The only reason people are trying to tie this to race is because Cooper Flagg is a white guy. Not only is he a white guy, but he's a white guy straight from central casting for the Duke basketball program known for having a lot of white dudes.

The Blue Devils have a long and storied history of very hatable and cocky white guys. It started with Christian Laettner and continued with JJ Redick, Kyle Singler, Grayson Allen and others.

Now, Cooper Flagg will assume the role of being the hated Duke star once he arrives on campus. I guess if you're a white dude playing for Duke and it's described as a brotherhood by a basketball publication, then we have to all pretend to be outraged.

Cooper Flagg has committed to Duke. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)

Reject the outrage mob at all costs. SLAM did nothing wrong, Cooper Flagg certainly has nothing to apologize for and Duke fans should be busy celebrating landing the top prospect in America. Let me know your thoughts at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.