San Antonio Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich joined fellow NBA coaches including Steve Kerr, Lloyd Pierce, David Fizdale and Stan Van Gundy to form a committee on racial injustice and reform, ESPN reports.
The new committee, which operates under the umbrella of the National Basketball Coaches’ Association (NBCA), released a statement Monday denouncing the killing of George Floyd and the systemic pattern of anti-Black violence in the United States.
“The events of the past few weeks — police brutality, racial profiling and the weaponization of racism are shameful, inhumane and intolerable,” the statement reads.
“As a diverse group of leaders, we have a responsibility to stand up and speak out for those who don’t have a voice — and to stand up and speak out for those who don’t feel it is safe to do so.”
“Witnessing the murder of George Floyd in cold blood and in broad daylight has traumatized our nation, but the reality is that African Americans are targeted and victimized on a daily basis. As NBA coaches, we cannot treat this as an isolated incident of outrage.”
The statement is signed by 33 current and former head coaches and nearly 180 assistants, including the full coaching staff of the Spurs — Popovich, Tim Duncan, Becky Hammon, Will Hardy, Chris Engelland and Mitch Johnson — as well as former Spur Tiago Splitter, who is currently a player development coach for the Brooklyn Nets.
According to ESPN, the committee has a planned meeting on Tuesday in which it will discuss strategies to take immediate action across the league’s cities.
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This article appears in May 20 – Jun 2, 2020.
