Phil Jackson Hoax? First Twitter Message is a Garbled Mess

Phil Jackson hoax? Phil Jackson sent out “11 champ;ipnsikp[ ringhs” as his first tweet, but posted another message and a video the next day to clear the air.
Phil Jackson Hoax? First Twitter Message is a Garbled Mess
3/28/2013
Updated:
12/30/2023

When Phil Jackson sent out his first tweet recently, it was a garbled mess of characters, punctuation, and numbers that apparently was trying to make note of his 11 NBA championships.

The tweet read, “11 champ;ipnsikp[ ringhs.” It prompted a number of replies from perplexed Twitter users wondering if he was OK or if he lost his senses. His post was retweeted more than 20,000 times, and he gained 140,000 followers overnight.  

“Congrats on butt-tweeting your first tweet!” read one.

However, 22 hours later, the Zen Master posted an AOL-branded video that explained his first tweet. “Much better,” he wrote on Twitter.

In the video, he wonders about Twitter’s “140 characters,” before showing his hands adorned with the 11 championship rings he won with the Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls. “I should take these off, right?” he asks.

Some believe the tweet and advertisement is designed to promote his forthcoming book, “Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success.”