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Kyle Korver shared an op-ed he wrote for The Player’s Tribune titled “Privileged” on Monday. In the piece, the Jazz player spoke about racism in the NBA and how he was naïve to the strife that Black players go through on and off the court.
The NBA veteran detailed how he was on the wrong side of the argument when he found out his Thabo Sefolosha – his current teammate on the Jazz and former teammate on the Hawks – was assaulted by the NYPD during an arrest on April 8, 2015, outside of Manhattan’s 1 Oak nightclub. During the arrest, the Black Swiss native suffered a broken fibula and ligament damage that sidelined him for the remainder of the season, according to ESPN.
“Anyway — on the morning I found out that Thabo had been arrested, want to know what my first thought was?” Korver wrote. “About my friend and teammate? My first thought was: What was Thabo doing out at a club on a back-to-back??”
Korver revealed he felt as though he let Sefolosha and himself down because he was so quick to point the finger at his friend and teammate.
He continued, “Yeah. Not, How’s he doing? Not, What happened
during the arrest?? Not, Something seems off with this
story. Nothing like that.
Before I knew the full story, and before I’d even had the chance to talk to
Thabo….. I sort of blamed Thabo.”
The small forward opened up about his White privilege when he discussed Russell Westbrook’s incident with a Utah Jazz fan in March, in which the Oklahoma City star alleged that a now-banned fan yelled racially charged things at him.
Korver
revealed that the Jazz team had a meeting about the Westbrook incident and many
of them shared similar stories of grief when dealing with the constant racism in
the NBA. He said his teammates including Sefolosha appeared to be “embarrassed”
and “tired” of the how little is done to protect them as players.
“This wasn’t the first time they’d taken part in
conversations about race in their NBA careers, and it wasn’t the first time
they’d had to address the hateful actions of others,” Korver, 38, wrote. “And
one big thing that got brought up a lot in the meeting was how incidents like
this — they weren’t only about the people directly involved. This wasn’t only
about Russ and some heckler. It was about more than that.”
The 38-year-old then acknowledged how being White is the NBA, which is
75 percent made up of players of color, is a form of privilege.
“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,” he continued. “It’s like — I may be Thabo’s friend, or Ekpe(
Udoh)’s teammate, or Russ’s colleague; I may work
with those guys. And I absolutely 100% stand with them. But I look
like the other guy.”
He then called for his people to do more than be passive allies to
the struggles of those from the Black community.
“I know that, as a white man, I have to hold my fellow
white men accountable,” Korver wrote in conclusion. “We all have to
hold each other accountable. …And it’s about understanding that Black Lives
Matter, and movements like it, matter, because — well, let’s face it: I
probably would have been safe on the street that one night in New York. And
Thabo wasn’t. And I was safe on the court that one night in
Utah. And Russell wasn’t.”
Several prominent African-American athletes including LeBron
James applauded Korver for speaking out.
“Salute my brother!! Means a lot,” James tweeted. “And like you said I hope people listen, just open your ears and listen.”
Along with Korver’s article
The Players Tribune also published a video segment of him and his teammates
speaking about racism in the league.
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