This week Kyle Korver of the Utah Jazz published a powerful article in the The Players’ Tribune simply entitled “Privileged.” He explores race and equity of the NBA (and by extension, of the US in general.) His statements reflect some of the discussions that are occurring in many places, so I thought that this was worth sharing.
He writes:
“When the police break your teammate’s leg, you’d think it would wake you up a little.
When they arrest him on a New York street, throw him in jail for the night, and leave him with a season-ending injury, you’d think it would sink in. You’d think you’d know there was more to the story.
You’d think.
But nope…
…There’s an elephant in the room that I’ve been thinking about a lot over these last few weeks. It’s the fact that, demographically, if we’re being honest: I have more in common with the fans in the crowd at your average NBA game than I have with the players on the court.
And after the events in Salt Lake City last month, and as we’ve been discussing them since, I’ve really started to recognize the role those demographics play in my privilege.”