Following the Los Angeles Clippers’ 154-111 win over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 on Tuesday night, Clippers head coach Doc Rivers used his postgame press conference as an opportunity to deliver a powerful message regarding the police shooting of Jacob Blake and racial injustice in America.
Rivers spoke with raw emotion: “It’s amazing to me why we keep loving this country, and this country does not love us back. It’s just really so sad.”
Doc Rivers gets emotional while talking about Jacob Blake shooting "It's amazing why we keep loving this country and it this country does not love us back" pic.twitter.com/YH8Qfd765k
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) August 26, 2020
“All you hear is Donald Trump and all of ’em talking about fear. We’re the ones getting killed. We’re the ones getting shot. We’re the ones that are denied to live in certain communities. We’ve been hung. We’ve been shot. All you do is keep hearing about fear. It’s amazing to me why we keep loving this country, and this country does not love us back. It’s just really so sad.
Like, I should just be a coach. And it’s so often that I’m reminded of my color. It’s just really sad. We gotta do better. But we gotta demand better. You know, it’s funny, we protest, and they send riot guards. They send people in riot outfits. They go up to Michigan with guns and they’re spitting on cops, and nothing happens.
The training has to change in the police force. The unions have to be taken down in the police force. My dad was a cop. I believe in good cops. We’re not trying to defund the police and take all of their money away. We’re trying to get them to protect us, just like they protect everybody else.
And how dare the Republicans talk about fear. We’re the ones that need to be scared. We’re the ones having to talk to every Black child. What white father has to give his son a talk about being careful if you get pulled over?”
Thank you @DocRivers for your words of wisdom and keeping this at the forefront. Proud to see the men in the bubble using their voices to try to enact real change! @NBAonTNT thank you for talking from your heart and trying to educate others by giving your experiences @NBA
— TheBillRussell (@RealBillRussell) August 26, 2020
According to witnesses and reports, Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, was attempting to break up an argument between two women when police arrived on the scene in Kenosha, Wisconsin. As Blake was entering his SUV with his three sons (ages 3, 5, and 8) as passengers, an officer fired his gun seven times into the unarmed Blake’s back at point-blank range.
The incident has led to protests and nationwide response. The Detroit Lions even canceled their practice on Tuesday to speak out against the shooting.
