By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The US has been shaken by recent developments including the prosecutors’ decision not to file charges for the Kenosha shooting which happened in August as well as by the incidents in the US Capitol.
The two situations have each been taken in negatively but have also been seen as contrasting when it comes to the policing double standards when it comes to communities of different colors.
Miami and Boston protested before the game and issued a joint statement while Milwaukee and Detroit took knees after the start of the game. Giannis Antetokounmpo also talked about it after his team’s win.
The NBA players and coaches and others responded as well. The Warriors ‘splash brothers’ were among them.
There is literally a tweet for everything. Cat got your tongue today huh? https://t.co/yKd8dgm2wn
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) January 6, 2021
Klay Thompson just posted this picture of Donald Trump on his IG story. pic.twitter.com/KlX5YsX9kq
— TheWarriorsTalk (@TheWarriorsTalk) January 6, 2021
Chris Paul, the NBPA president: “We all happen to be in a situation where we’re very fortunate and privileged to play this game. But [this] situation is bigger than basketball and the game. So, it’s sad and unfortunate the things that continue to happen. And we’re not numb to it. Guys have feelings. We discussed it and that’s how the teams wanted to express themselves.”
Jaylen Brown never shied away to say his thoughts and so was the case this time as well: “It reminds me of what Dr. Martin Luther King has said, that there’s two split different Americas,” Brown said. “In one America, you get killed by sleeping in your car, selling cigarettes or playing in your backyard. And then in another America, you get to storm the Capitol and no tear gas, no massive arrests, none of that. So, I think it’s obvious: It’s 2021 — I don’t think anything has changed. We want to still acknowledge that. We want to still push for the change that we’re looking for. But as of yet, we have not seen it. We want to continue to keep conversations alive and do our part.”
Kawhi Leonard doesn’t talk much but even he had an opinion to share: “You just see the privilege, the privilege in America,” Leonard said. “It’s sad to see, because if any of us was out there, I think we would’ve been tear-gassed, Maced, probably gunshots, you know?”
“We all understand that it would have been guns ablaze and fires ablaze as if that were black people protesting on the outside, and we haven’t even mentioned getting inside and tearing up the building,” Lloyd Pierce noted.
Lloyd Pierce on the double standard of policing.
“We all understand that it would have been guns ablaze and fires ablaze as if that were black people protesting on the outside, and we haven’t even mentioned getting inside and tearing up the building.” pic.twitter.com/trlF880Z4x
— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) January 6, 2021
Scott Brooks was among the many coaches voicing their opinion as well.
“It’s sad, definitely sad. We should be better than this. I’ve seen the videos. It’s disgusting. I see a lot of — (D.C.) is a special place. You just hope that everybody, the fans, everybody is safe. This should not be allowed. It’s unacceptable. It’s America’s capital. You should not be able to do what I saw on video. It’s disgusting. It’s embarrassing. It should never happen.”
Brad Stevens: “We have a long way to go. … Two weeks from now, we’ll be in a lot better spot.”
Tom Thibodeau as well.
Coach Tom Thibodeau addresses the riots on the US Capitol Building in Washington DC today: pic.twitter.com/XqB9xuKrH3
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) January 6, 2021
Dwane Casey: “As a father and husband and human being … to see our house, our people’s house, to be stormed like that and overtaken by, whoever that was, I don’t know who that is, it’s dangerous and a huge attack on our democracy.”
NBPA executive director Michele Roberts expressed her outrage as well: “Today started yesterday, when the Jacob Blake shooting was being justified, although I’m not sure there was a single human surprised at that finding. Every single player that contacted me — or that I contacted — saw the same connection to the Blake shooting being justified. We were watching these people essentially committing treason at the Capitol and I have yet to hear about a single shot being fired. We saw a Black police officer being chased and players said to me, ‘So this is what they can do?’ And people don’t get this privilege stuff? I know how they’re feeling. I am so angry and pained — and refusing to cry. It reminded me of something that James Baldwin said, when asked what it was like to be a Negro in the United States of America. He said that if you’re conscious of what’s going on in the country, and you’re a Negro, you’re in a constant state of rage. On a day like this, it’s the first thing that comes to mind. And all I can say is that I’m grateful knowing that hopefully nobody who looks like me is going to Capitol Hill to respond to this, because if they do, you’ll see a different response by law enforcement. You know it — and I know it,” she told ESPN.