The LA Clippers took a commanding 3-2 series lead on Tuesday night but Doc Rivers wasn’t in a jovial mood after the game..
While speaking to the media in the team’s postgame press conference, Rivers was extremely emotional while talking about the Republican National Convention, the police shooting of Jacob Blake, and why this country needs police reform.
Doc Rivers with raw emotion and a thunderbolt cry for justice: "All you hear is Donald Trump & all of them talking about fear. We're the ones getting killed. We're the ones getting shot…It's amazing, we keep loving this country, and this country does not love us back." pic.twitter.com/19dHu9UlZ5
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) August 26, 2020
Just watching the Republican National Convention and they’re spewing this fear, all you hear from Donald Trump and all of them talking about fear, we’re the ones getting killed, we’re the ones getting shot, we’re the ones getting denied to live in certain communities, we’ve been hung. we’ve been shot, and all you do is keep hearing about fear, it’s amazing to me why we keep losing this country and this country doesn’t love us back and it’s really so sad.
How dare the Republicans talk about fear we’re the ones that need to be scared, we’re the ones having to talk to our sons, what white father has to give his son a talk about being careful if you get pulled over?
Doc’s comments come on the same day several NBA players including Marcus Smart, Fred VanVleet and Norman Powell have talked about potentially boycotting playoff games in the aftermath of 29-year-old black man Jacob Blake being shot seven times by police as he entered his car where his children were in.
Fred VanVleet: "I was pretty excited and then we all had to watch Jacob Blake get shot yesterday. That changes the tone of things…It's just starting to feel like everything we're doing is just going through the motions, nothing's changing."
— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) August 25, 2020
Powell: "Taking a knee for the anthem, that's not getting the job done. That's getting washed out…Something has to happen where you're forcing those people who can make the change to do something."
Asked about boycott, says a lot of things have been talked about.
— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) August 25, 2020
Marcus Smart was asked if thinks a potential boycott is warranted to get the players heard: "Definitely. Something has to be done, and right now our focus should not be on basketball."
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) August 25, 2020
It’s still unclear if players will follow-through with the boycott but the mood inside the bubble is currently grim.
Personal observation: Players are visibly shattered the last 48 hours. Many believed coming down to Orlando, using the platform would inspire change. See what happened in Wisconsin — it’s made many wonder if it was worth it.
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) August 25, 2020