While tensions in America may not be as high as they were months ago, political and cultural issues continue to be a major theme for the country.
In the NBA, many of the top players, coaches, and executives felt the heat last season, when they took a stand for social justice and against (the now-former) U.S. President Donald Trump.
Even now, however, things like racism continue to be a present and active reality for many minorities in the country. Recently, Jeremy Lin described his own experience on the G-League court, telling the world that there are times his opponents call him “Coronavirus” during games.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr recently reacted to the Lin situation, and to the idea of racism in general, which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense when you really think about it.
“I applaud Jeremy for his words and echo his sentiments regarding racism against the Asian American community,” Kerr said 90 minutes before tipoff against the Hornets at Chase Center. “It’s just so ridiculous. And, obviously, spawned by many people, including our former president (Donald Trump), as it relates to the coronavirus originating in China.
It’s just shocking. I can’t wrap my head around any of it. But I can’t wrap my head around racism in general. We’re all just flesh and blood,” Kerr said. “We’re all just people. We’re all, as Pop once said to me, we’re all accidents of birth. We were born, we come out the way we are and we don’t have a say in it.
What we do have a say in is how we treat people. And it’s shocking to me that we can treat each other so poorly based on the color of skin or whatever it is. I applaud Jeremy for speaking out.”
To discriminate against someone based on the color of their skin is pointless, baseless, and flat-out ridiculous. People are people, and they come in all different shapes, sizes, and colors. While some still think it’s appropriate to draw a line in the sand when it comes to ethnicity and color, it’s refreshing to know that there are so many others who actively stand against it.
Steve Kerr is one of those characters, and his words about the matter certainly ring with truth.
