This was all hyped for ratings. This was for the Bird/Johnson & Lebron/Melo interview. Jim Gray asked him if he thought there should be more white people in the NBA; Larry Bird didn't just say this out of the blue. After hearing it in context, it was definitely a s***load of media hype.
BTW, this interview is kind of cool, with the exception of Jim Gray being the interviewer. It's Bird and Johnson & James and Anthony, and it was filmed in Milan HS's gym in Milan, IN. Milan is the team the movie Hoosiers is based off of.