Bulls great Scottie Pippen had a message for any current Bull who believes assistant coach Randy Brown is a snitch: It's not about him, it's about you.

Pippen defended his former teammate during an appearance on ESPN's "The Jump," addressing persistent rumors that Brown has been acting as a spy in the locker room on behalf of management — allegations Brown himself strongly refuted this weekend.

"Randy's a great guy," Pippen said on the show Tuesday. "Yes, there are things you have to report back to your bosses but it's not being a snitch, it's doing your job. To me it's about the team — doing your job. ... They need to get better. It's not about anything taken out the locker room from Randy Brown or whatever, it's about what are you guys going to do to make it better.

"That's why you're looking at Randy Brown as a snitch, because you're not winning games."

The Bulls were 26-26 heading into Wednesday night's road game against the Warriors.

"Jump" analyst Amin Elhassan took it a step further, alluding to recent public squabbles among teammates over social media.

"The team is so fractured the trust is so broken that everybody looks suspicious," he said. "You don't know who friend or foe is."

On Saturday, Brown told the Tribune's K.C. Johnson that he has lost sleep over the rumors and emphasized the sanctity of the locker room.

"That room is for the players. It's not for me to report anything. I would never do that," Brown said.

"I think I'm a really, really good coach. I work my ass off for Fred Hoiberg and the Bulls. I treat all my players the same, from (Dwyane) Wade all the way down to Denzel Valentine. I feel I relate to these players in more ways than basketball. For me to be portrayed as being a snitch really, really doesn't sit well with me. It's not part of who I am."

plthompson@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @_phil_thompson

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