Jay-Z has been a prominent force in bringing the New Jersey Nets to downtown Brooklyn, but not all New Yorkers are happy about the hip hop mogul's involvement with the move.

Phil Mushnick, a sportswriter for the New York Post, drew a firestorm of criticism today for a column he wrote suggesting the team should change its name to "The New York N-----s," with cheerleaders called "The Brooklyn B------s," because of the rapper's involvement.

Here is Mushnick's offending statement in full:

"As long as the Nets are allowing Jay-Z to call their marketing shots — what a shock that he chose black and white as the new team colors to stress, as the Nets explained, their new "urban" home — why not have him apply the full Jay-Z treatment?

Why the Brooklyn Nets when they can be the New York N------s? The cheerleaders could be the Brooklyn B----hes or Hoes. Team logo? A 9 mm with hollow-tip shell casings strewn beneath. Wanna be Jay-Z hip? Then go all the way!"

Mushnick's column was quickly denounced in the press and on social media, though neither the New York Post nor Jay-Z have yet commented on the matter.

In a follow up statement this afternoon, the author defended himself against the criticism and said it was Jay-Z who was really racist.

"Such obvious, wishful and ignorant mischaracterizations of what I write are common. I don’t call Black men the N-word; I don’t regard young women as bitches and whores; I don’t glorify the use of assault weapons and drugs. Jay-Z, on the other hand…..Is he the only NBA owner allowed to call Black men N—ers? Jay-Z profits from the worst and most sustaining self-enslaving stereotypes of Black-American culture and I’M the racist? Some truths, I guess, are just hard to read, let alone think about."

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(Photo: New York Post,  PacificCoastNews.com)