Planned rebellion against police brutality by Toronto Raptors
When asked during a media conference on Monday if the team planned to take a stance on the controversial issue, Raptors all-star DeMar DeRozan is reported to have said, “We all as individuals…have been through different things in our lives and it is definitely a sensitive thing that I think I will definitely take an approach to it."
“I had a close friend of mine a couple of weeks ago that was murdered by the police, shot seventeen times.”
“It was something I haven’t spoken out about. It was more so just understanding what is going on in society and how much I can help," said reports
According to media reports, DeRozan had also stated that Raptors were planning, with support for each other, to do something to try and make a difference.
Responding to reports of protests in other sports about racial oppression and other social matters, The National Basketball Players (NBP) had been asked by the NBP Association to think of ways to bring positive changes in communities across the country, said media reports.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is reported to have issued a memo to the players stating the league and union, “working together, have begun developing substantive ways for us to come together and take meaningful action.” But in this memo there was no mention of the rules that required players to stand for the national anthems.
Some athletes did not stand during the anthem in the past weeks as a way of protesting both against police brutality and the oppression of black people in America, reports said.
The media quoted Dwane Casey, Raptors head coach as saying, “I think it is our job, as leaders here, to have conversations about it. All I tell our guys is to be informed…and do it from the heart…it should be about bringing awareness to the situation and what’s going on.”
Casey said that he had not experienced any racial prejudice during his time in Toronto and said, “Canada is a beautiful country, we don’t have those issues here."
“To disrespect the flag here, is wasting your time and energy on something that is not here,” he said.
“We probably have…the most diverse city in the NBA, I would argue that with anybody," reports confirmed.
(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)
Image:Toronto Raptors Twitter
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