After the Clippers game five blowout win over the Dallas Mavericks 154-111, Clippers coach Doc Rivers gave emotional post-game comments about the shooting of Jacob Blake that happened earlier this week. “What stands out to me is just watching the Republican convention and they are spewing this fear. All you hear is Donald Trump and all of them talking about fear,” Rivers said Tuesday. “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 why we keep loving this country, and this country does not love us back,” Rivers said. “It’s just really so sad. Like, I should just be a coach. I’m so often reminded of my color. It’s just really sad. We got to do better. We have to demand better.”
Along with these comments Rivers made some demands that he feel would improve the situation between the police and African Americans. “The training has to change in the police force. The unions have to be taken down in the police force,” Rivers said. “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.”
A primary goal of the NBA bubble was to bring light to issues of social justice and racial inequality in America. Several forms of protest are reportedly being considered including players sitting out or entire games not taking place. It is unclear what effect the shooting of Blake will have on the game but it is clear that a significant response is coming soon.
