Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell caused a stir on Monday with comments he made about his time playing in Utah.
Before getting traded to the Cavaliers in 2022, Mitchell spent his first five years in the NBA with the Utah Jazz, who acquired him in a trade with the Denver Nuggets on draft night.
His time spent there wasn’t without issue. As Mitchell detailed recently, he had an issue adjusting to the environment.
NBACentral tweeted Monday, “Donovan Mitchell says it was ‘draining’ to be in Utah: ‘It’s a blessing to be back around people that look like me.'”
Donovan Mitchell says it was ‘draining’ to be in Utah: ‘It’s a blessing to be back around people that look like me’ https://t.co/gnvxuo0Zey
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) December 19, 2022
The article, from Cavaliers Nation, detailed things further.
“Man, it was just one thing after another. And I will say, it’s not the only place it happens. But for me, I’m continuing to be an advocate for [racial equality] and to receive the amount of pushback I got over the years, it was a lot.”
Mitchell also spoke about a state Senator telling him to educate himself on his own Black history. Additionally, topics like seeing Black kids getting bullied, a little girl who tragically committed suicide, among other eye-opening details.
The NBA world wasn’t short on reaction to the quotes by Mitchell.
Tyler Conway of Bleacher Report tweeted, “Yeah I can’t possibly see why Donovan Mitchell would wanna leave Utah” and tweeted two incriminating headlines of previous acts of racism in Utah.
yeah I can’t possibly see why Donovan Mitchell would wanna leave Utah https://t.co/kCNtOgDqSb pic.twitter.com/XGWnojGjye
— Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) December 20, 2022
Sarah Todd, who covers the Jazz for The Deseret in Utah, tweeted her thoughts. She said, “You know what, reading through the comments on social media and elsewhere about Donovan Mitchell, reading what fans are saying abut him, it’s honestly just really sad. It’s sad that it was so draining on him to just speak up for things like equity and justice and his experience.”
You know what, reading through the comments on social media and elsewhere about Donovan Mitchell, reading what fans are saying about him, it’s honestly just really sad.
It’s sad that it was so draining on him to just speak up for things like equity and justice and his experience— Sarah Todd (@NBASarah) December 19, 2022
Additionally, Mark Deeks of Forbes offered his thoughts. Deeks tweeted, “I guess you can be mad at Donovan Mitchell for telling his truth, if you must. If that is somehow comforting for you, you have that right. But perhaps save that energy and instead refocus it on being mad at the circumstances that made that his truth.”
I guess you can be mad at Donovan Mitchell for telling his truth, if you must. If that is somehow comforting for you, you have that right. But perhaps save that energy and instead refocus it on being mad at the circumstances that made that his truth.
— Mark Deeks (@MarkDeeksNBA) December 19, 2022
Finally, Erica Hill, an economist and journalist, tweeted three clapping emojis and wrote, “I know the feeling,” as she showed it was a relatable feeling.
👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
I know the feeling https://t.co/dFH67RjspS— Erica Ifill (@wickdchiq) December 20, 2022
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022