Racism is a very sensitive yet very recurrent topic in the U.S. right now. Of course, the NBA is not exempt from this, as the league uses their platforms to speak against racism and social injustice in the country and the rest of the world.
Their biggest figures are sharing their experiences with racism and the Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo recalled how he felt shocked when he first saw a black man driving a nice car, which happened after he landed in America to play in the NBA (0:20 mark).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOTkYtTLXRM
“The first time I saw a black man driving a nice car was in the US, like I was really shocked about that, like what’s going on here?” Giannis said while discussing his origin story with Bleacher Report.
He then was asked how that experience changed his perspective.
“It definitely changed it, it definitely changed it because now you’re thinking about ‘do my country give people of color and not just, you know, people of color, people that they’re not from here, enough opportunity?’ and then you started thinking about it.”
Giannis’ story is very inspirational. He even remembered how scared he was that his family was going to be deported of Greece and all the time they live undocumented in the European country. He learned about hard work at a very young age, he was all about his family and once his dream came true, Giannis made sure to take care of them, even forgetting about himself.
He is an inspiration for anybody but as you may see, it wasn’t easy for him. It wasn’t until he came to America that he learned that people of color can actually have nice things.
