DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus Privileged By Kyle Korver

W
hen the police break your teammate’s leg, you’d think it would wake you up a little.

When they arrest him on a New York street, throw him in jail for the night, and leave him with a season-ending injury, you’d think it would sink in. You’d think you’d know there was more to the story.

You’d think.

But nope.

I still remember my reaction when I first heard what happened to Thabo. It was 2015, late in the season. Thabo and I were teammates on the Hawks, and we’d flown into New York late after a game in Atlanta. When I woke up the next morning, our team group text was going nuts. Details were still hazy, but guys were saying, Thabo hurt his leg? During an arrest? Wait — he spent the night in jail?! Everyone was pretty upset and confused.

Well, almost everyone. My response was….. different. I’m embarrassed to admit it.

Which is why I want to share it today.

Before I tell the rest of this story, let me just say real quick — Thabo wasn’t some random teammate of mine, or some guy in the league who I knew a little bit. We’d become legitimate friends that year in our downtime. He was my go-to teammate to talk with about stuff beyond the basketball world. Politics, religion, culture, you name it — Thabo brought a perspective that wasn’t typical of an NBA player. And it’s easy to see why: Before we were teammates in Atlanta, the guy had played professional ball in France, Turkey and Italy. He spoke three languages! Thabo’s mother was from Switzerland, and his father was from South Africa. They lived together in South Africa before Thabo was born, then left because of apartheid.

It didn’t take long for me to figure out that Thabo was one of the most interesting people I’d ever been around. We respected each other. We were cool, you know? We had each other’s backs.

Anyway — on the morning I found out that Thabo had been arrested, want to know what my first thought was? About my friend and teammate? My first thought was: What was Thabo doing out at a club on a back-to-back??

Yeah. Not, How’s he doing? Not, What happened during the arrest?? Not, Something seems off with this story. Nothing like that. Before I knew the full story, and before I’d even had the chance to talk to Thabo….. I sort of blamed Thabo.

I thought, Well, if I’d been in Thabo’s shoes, out at a club late at night, the police wouldn’t have arrested me. Not unless I was doing something wrong.

Cringe.

It’s not like it was a conscious thought. It was pure reflex — the first thing to pop into my head.

And I was worried about him, no doubt.

But still. Cringe.

A few months later, a jury found Thabo not guilty on all charges. He settled with the city over the NYPD’s use of force against him. And then the story just sort of….. disappeared. It fell away from the news. Thabo had surgery and went through rehab. Pretty soon, another NBA season began — and we were back on the court again.

Life went on.

But I still couldn’t shake my discomfort.

I mean, I hadn’t been involved in the incident. I hadn’t even been there. So why did I feel like I’d let my friend down?

Why did I feel like I’d let myself down?

A few weeks ago, something happened at a Jazz home game that brought back many of those old questions.

Maybe you saw it: We were playing against the Thunder, and Russell Westbrook and a fan in the crowd exchanged words during the game. I didn’t actually see or hear what happened, and if you were following on TV or on Twitter, maybe you had a similar initial viewing of it. Then, after the game, one of our reporters asked me for my response to what had gone down between Russ and the fan. I told him I hadn’t seen it — and added something like, But you know Russ. He gets into it with the crowd a lot.

Of course, the full story came out later that night. What actually happened was that a fan had said some really ugly things at close range to Russ. Russ had then responded. After the game, he’d said he felt the comments were racially charged.

The incident struck a nerve with our team.

In a closed-door meeting with the president of the Jazz the next day, my teammates shared stories of similar experiences they’d had — of feeling degraded in ways that went beyond acceptable heckling. One teammate talked about how his mom had called him right after the game, concerned for his safety in SLC. One teammate said the night felt like being “in a zoo.” One of the guys in the meeting was Thabo — he’s my teammate in Utah now. I looked over at him, and remembered his night in NYC.

Everyone was upset. I was upset — and embarrassed, too. But there was another emotion in the room that day, one that was harder to put a finger on. It was almost like….. disappointment, mixed with exhaustion. Guys were just sick and tired of it all.

This wasn’t the first time they’d taken part in conversations about race in their NBA careers, and it wasn’t the first time they’d had to address the hateful actions of others. And one big thing that got brought up a lot in the meeting was how incidents like this — they weren’t only about the people directly involved. This wasn’t only about Russ and some heckler. It was about more than that.

It was about what it means just to exist right now — as a person of color in a mostly white space.

It was about racism in America.

Before the meeting ended, I joined the team’s demand for a swift response and a promise from the Jazz organization that it would address the concerns we had. I think my teammates and I all felt it was a step in the right direction.

But I don’t think anyone felt satisfied.

There’s an elephant in the room that I’ve been thinking about a lot over these last few weeks. It’s the fact that, demographically, if we’re being honest: I have more in common with the fans in the crowd at your average NBA game than I have with the players on the court.

And after the events in Salt Lake City last month, and as we’ve been discussing them since, I’ve really started to recognize the role those demographics play in my privilege. It’s like — I may be Thabo’s friend, or Ekpe’s teammate, or Russ’s colleague; I may work with those guys. And I absolutely 100% stand with them.

But I look like the other guy.

And whether I like it or not? I’m beginning to understand how that means something.

What I’m realizing is, no matter how passionately I commit to being an ally, and no matter how unwavering my support is for NBA and WNBA players of color….. I’m still in this conversation from the privileged perspective of opting in to it. Which of course means that on the flip side, I could just as easily opt out of it. Every day, I’m given that choice — I’m granted that privilege — based on the color of my skin.

In other words, I can say every right thing in the world: I can voice my solidarity with Russ after what happened in Utah. I can evolve my position on what happened to Thabo in New York. I can be that weird dude in Get Out bragging about how he’d have voted for Obama a third term. I can condemn every racist heckler I’ve ever known.

But I can also fade into the crowd, and my face can blend in with the faces of those hecklers, any time I want.

I realize that now. And maybe in years past, just realizing something would’ve felt like progress. But it’s NOT years past — it’s today. And I know I have to do better. So I’m trying to push myself further.

I’m trying to ask myself what I should actually do.

How can I — as a white man, part of this systemic problem — become part of the solution when it comes to racism in my workplace? In my community? In this country?

These are the questions that I’ve been asking myself lately.

And I don’t think I have all the answers yet — but here are the ones that are starting to ring the most true:

I have to continue to educate myself on the history of racism in America.

I have to listen. I’ll say it again, because it’s that important. I have to listen.

I have to support leaders who see racial justice as fundamental — as something that’s at the heart of nearly every major issue in our country today. And I have to support policies that do the same.

I have to do my best to recognize when to get out of the way — in order to amplify the voices of marginalized groups that so often get lost.

But maybe more than anything?

I know that, as a white man, I have to hold my fellow white men accountable.

We all have to hold each other accountable.

And we all have to be accountable — period. Not just for our own actions, but also for the ways that our inaction can create a “safe” space for toxic behavior.

And I think the standard that we have to hold ourselves to, in this crucial moment….. it’s higher than it’s ever been. We have to be active. We have to be actively supporting the causes of those who’ve been marginalized — precisely because they’ve been marginalized.

Two concepts that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately are guilt and responsibility.

When it comes to racism in America, I think that guilt and responsibility tend to be seen as more or less the same thing. But I’m beginning to understand how there’s a real difference.

As white people, are we guilty of the sins of our forefathers? No, I don’t think so.

But are we responsible for them? Yes, I believe we are.

And I guess I’ve come to realize that when we talk about solutions to systemic racism — police reform, workplace diversity, affirmative action, better access to healthcare, even reparations? It’s not about guilt. It’s not about pointing fingers, or passing blame.

It’s about responsibility. It’s about understanding that when we’ve said the word “equality,” for generations, what we’ve really meant is equality for a certain group of people. It’s about understanding that when we’ve said the word “inequality,” for generations, what we’ve really meant is slavery, and its aftermath — which is still being felt to this day. It’s about understanding on a fundamental level that black people and white people, they still have it different in America. And that those differences come from an ugly history….. not some random divide.

And it’s about understanding that Black Lives Matter, and movements like it, matter, because — well, let’s face it: I probably would’ve been safe on the street that one night in New York. And Thabo wasn’t. And I was safe on the court that one night in Utah. And Russell wasn’t.

But as disgraceful as it is that we have to deal with racist hecklers in NBA arenas in 2019? The truth is, you could argue that that kind of racism is “easier” to deal with.

Because at least in those cases, the racism is loud and clear. There’s no ambiguity — not in the act itself, and thankfully not in the response: we throw the guy out of the building, and then we ban him for life.

But in many ways the more dangerous form of racism isn’t that loud and stupid kind. It isn’t the kind that announces itself when it walks into the arena. It’s the quiet and subtle kind. The kind that almost hides itself in plain view. It’s the person who does and says all the “right” things in public: They’re perfectly friendly when they meet a person of color. They’re very polite. But in private? Well….. they sort of wish that everyone would stop making everything “about race” all the time.

It’s the kind of racism that can seem almost invisible — which is one of the main reasons why it’s allowed to persist.

And so, again, banning a guy like Russ’s heckler? To me, that’s the “easy” part. But if we’re really going to make a difference as a league, as a community, and as a country on this issue….. it’s like I said — I just think we need to push ourselves another step further.

First, by identifying that less visible, less obvious behavior as what it is: racism.

And then second, by denouncing that racism — actively, and at every level.

That’s the bare minimum of where we have to get to, I think, if we’re going to consider the NBA — or any workplace — as anything close to part of the solution in 2019.

I’ll wrap this up in a minute — but first I have one last thought.

The NBA is over 75% players of color.

Seventy-five percent.

People of color, they built this league. They’ve grown this league. People of color have made this league into what it is today. And I guess I just wanted to say that if you can’t find it in your heart to support them — now? And I mean actively support them?

If the best that you can do for their cause is to passively “tolerate” it? If that’s the standard we’re going to hold ourselves to — to blend in, and opt out?

Well, that’s not good enough. It’s not even close.

I know I’m in a strange position, as one of the more recognized white players in the NBA. It’s a position that comes with a lot of….. interesting undertones. And it’s a position that makes me a symbol for a lot of things, for a lot of people — often people who don’t know anything about me. Usually, I just ignore them. But this doesn’t feel like a “usually” moment.

This feels like a moment to draw a line in the sand.

I believe that what’s happening to people of color in this country — right now, in 2019 — is wrong.

The fact that black Americans are more than five times as likely to be incarcerated as white Americans is wrong. The fact that black Americans are more than twice as likely to live in poverty as white Americans is wrong. The fact that black unemployment rates nationally are double that of overall unemployment rates is wrong. The fact that black imprisonment rates for drug charges are almost six times higher nationally than white imprisonment rates for drug charges is wrong. The fact that black Americans own approximately one-tenth of the wealth that white Americans own is wrong.

The fact that inequality is built so deeply into so many of our most trusted institutions is wrong.

And I believe it’s the responsibility of anyone on the privileged end of those inequalities to help make things right.

So if you don’t want to know anything about me, outside of basketball, then listen — I get it. But if you do want to know something? Know I believe that.

Know that about me.

If you’re wearing my jersey at a game? Know that about me. If you’re planning to buy my jersey for someone else…… know that about me. If you’re following me on social media….. know that about me. If you’re coming to Jazz games and rooting for me….. know that about me.

And if you’re claiming my name, or likeness, for your own cause, in any way….. know that about me. Know that I believe this matters.

Thanks for reading.

Time for me to shut up and listen.


https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/kyle-korver-utah-jazz-nba

I was going to put this in the Tailgate Forum but I figured some replies might make this political.

I can’t say I agree with him 100% but thought this was too powerful to not post.

It was a pretty spectacular read.

It was a great read - thanks for sharing. Racism is alive and well all over the world despite what some want to tell us.

This is a good read and very powerful. I had brought up implicit racism in a couple of football threads because I think it's a real problem in American society.

Blatant acts of racism are easy to see and denounce, but it's the subtle nuances of racism that exists in America that is a much larger foe.

As an NBA player I find it very hard to believe that he questioned one of his good friends account of what happened.

I certainly agree with you. But don't we see that a lot? Not often from someone as close as a team mate. Especially one who is described as someone he was so close with. But don't we see this conclusion drawn quickly far too often?

"Well the cops didn't just pick him out of the crowd."

"When you are committing a crime you might get hurt."

It's instantly assumed by many in our society that the police can do no wrong. That's certainly not an objective response. I have said time and time again that I think by and large that police officers are good people. But they are all human none the less. And as such there's good and bad withing any large group of humans.

Most in our society have been raised to respect the police. Told they are here to protect us and see them as a force of good. As such we've been trained to think of them as being right. So it's not so unusual for many to take their side in almost any issue immediately.

That's not always the case. As such we should not be so quick to judge.

Did you not even get one aspect of the "message" of his article?

Let's meet real concerns w/silence. Hell, I had multiple posts removed from a thread and I didn't swear, insult any posters, or post inappropriate links.

Silence the opposition.

Maybe I mis-interpreted the article, but it seemed to me he didn't necessarily question his friend's account.

He reacted more with questions of why Thabo was out that night, when they had games on back to back nights, what he would be doing to get himself arrested, but he still had not heard Thabo's side of the story, this was just after the started reading group texts from team mates that Thabo was arrested.

He never seemed to actually mention about what happened after he got to talk to Thabo about the incident.

We all rush to judgment. I read it almost every day on this forum, people posting articles before all the evidence is there, and making judgments.

Cute. Yeah I got it.

I have a hard time buying that an NBA player who has spent his entire existence predominantly around black people would have this skewed of a world view whilst literally being immersed in said world.

Look it's a great thing to discuss and it absolutely exists, I just cannot comprehend being this blind to the world that you live in being an NBA player.

j/c:

I was responding in the thread about the burning of the three churches and decided that my post fits better here.

There are are an abundance of hate crimes that come to our attention almost daily. I think most of us can agree that the perpetrators of these acts are evil and hateful. I think it's easy to identify true evil characters and vilify them. The world can collectively open their mouths and eyes wide w/disgust, surprise, and outrage. However, it's quite another thing to identify systemic racism.

I believe that systemic racism is akin to diseases like hypertension in that they are "silent killers." While minorities have gained more rights and opportunities in the last 50-60 years, they still face uphill battles in almost every facet of their lives. Housing, employment, education, healthcare, criminalization, surveillance, labeling, etc.

I think that a lot of the positive changes were not due black people changing, but by white people changing. Likewise, I think it is imperative that white society take the time to examine, analyze, and evaluate the systemic racism that is embedded in American society. The change must come from the attitudes of the whites. We need to be more cognizant of the challenges that minorities face in a day-to-day basis.

I would love to add to these thoughts and discuss things w/anyone who is interested in having a reasonable discussion.

Wow . That’s why he wrote this piece. And you got nothing out of it?

Some will just not give in to having that discussion. And that goes both ways as pointed out. The real difficulties in race relations as I see it is overlooking what makes us different and celebrating what makes us alike.

Yes, your post count on Dawgtalkers is right up there with systematic racism and police brutality.....great analogy.

What the hell does that even mean?

We disagree on 98.99999, but I give credit where credit is due. This is spot on.

comparing a post being removed on dawgtalkers to silencing the opposition of systematic racism is well....

maybe I read it wrong, and I apologize if I did.

But I read that as if HIS post are treated as people of color in America - which to me is a bad analogy.

That's not what I got out of it, but okay. The written word can be seen differently.

It can. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't.

I like how we are supposed to have these "open conversations" on race but if I deviate from the slightest bit of seal clapping, I missed the point.

There is no damn way Kyle Korver spent that long in the NBA surrounded by African Americans and remained this obtuse. He had been in the league for a DECADE already!

I would welcome that conversation and enjoy participating

Over about the last 2 years, this is a notion that smacked me between the eyes a few times... And the way you get there.. and it's not just race, it's all differences.. but the way you get to that point of celebration is by talking WITH people instead of talking AT people... and by listening to what they have to say with your mind as open as you can get it.

Thanks Pit, but I don't give a damn what will thinks.

For the record, the posts deleted were on the OBJ thread where I addressed systemic racism.

Now, to be fair to the refs........perhaps the usual suspects went crazy this morning and the refs deleted all the posts related to the topic, but I sure as hell didn't break any rules by posting what I did. I'm tired of people of color in general and black men in particular being assigned negative labels while white guys who do worse things are praised.

Let's discuss it here, DC.

That is Korver's "message." He thinks white people need to step-up and help solve this long-standing problem. I think that some will oppose the notion of removing the systemic or institutional racism in this country, but I believe that the vast majority of whites are oblivious to the damage it does to minorities.

I was talking about this topic w/a couple of black guys I had just met just last week. The conversation started w/sports, but as we kept talking we got into race and politics. They were guarded at first and didn't want to open up, but they opened up once they saw I was sincere.

It's a daily grind. A lifelong anchor. A weight around your damn neck that you carry daily. Every time you get in your car, you think about what could happen. Every time you are around your boss, you are reminded of it. Every time you act out in class, you feel the scorn.

I have always been an advocate of blacks fighting harder to overcome the odds. That was huge for us in the classroom. My reasoning was that it is unfair, but what are you going to do about it? You have to outwork them. Be better citizens. Educate yourselves to a higher degree. Don't act out in ways that will get you labeled as a distraction, thug, or troublemaker. Ignore that when a white dude does it he is seen as a tough guy, someone who marches to his own drum, and not a cookie cutter type of person.

I still believe minorities need to strive to be better. My wife is a living example of it. She made it in a time when things were even worse! But, damn man..........ENOUGH!

The only way we are going to end this problem is for whites to also become cognizant of the underlying racism that exists in this country. We need to examine ourselves and ask: "What can I do to make a difference? What can I do to help solve this epidemic?"

Until the majority of the population understands that there is a real problem here and works to correct the problem, the divide will not only survive, but it will continue to grow.

Great article

I guess it's good that he wrote that down, but I kind of assumed everybody already knew that.


I agree. It's not those who would outspokenly oppose it, it's the ones who won't even admit that it exists that are the bigger problem. This is a revelation that I have had as I have grown in corporate America... it's something I have personally tried to address in my own life.


And the problem with the honest answer to that question is that most people will externalize the answer.. and tell you how to fix "the system", how to fix "other people", they will explain and search for answers but the answer that very few people ever come to is... "I need to be better." I, not they, not them... ME. The one person I have complete control over..

As I rose through the ranks and got into a position of hiring and firing this became apparent to me.. I was hiring an office admin, the position was posted.. resumes started coming in.. I don't remember the names exactly but I'd get resumes with very ethnic names, might be asian or hispanic or black.. and I wondered, this person has to answer the phone.. they are the first person some of our clients are ever going to talk to.. can they even speak English without a heavy accent or dialect? Is it even worth taking my time to interview them? I caught myself, I learned something about myself and I set about improving it.. I'm not asking for a gold star, this seems like something everybody should be doing.. but I wonder how many people are self-aware enough to pick up on their own bad habits and learned behaviors...

Growing up poor in the city, I experienced far more racism directed at me than I ever saw the opposite. I started writing about it, but I won’t. At the end of the day, if you want to be equal, you’re going to be held accountable as an equal. The soft bigotry of low expectations drives me insane. The world doesn’t need more white saviors, it needs more Black Hero’s and I don’t mean basketball players.

j/c

I am finding all this fascinating.
Do carry on.

I agree, but that does not mean that you and I should give up. It's a noble battle.

Korver didn't articulate perfectly. There were some flaws in his article, as was quickly pointed out. But, his message was sound. What can I do as an individual to help fight this.

Others will read his comments. Some will try to rip them apart. Others will dismiss them. Some will be come angry. However, there will be others that understand what he is trying to say and make changes in their own lives.

If you and I attack this issue, others will hear us. The same pattern will follow. The goal isn't to get all the facts right, assign the right terminology, or even to think we can convince the masses. The goal is to have enough integrity to do the right damn thing. The goal is to perhaps reach other open-minded folks who might take the time to really think about and make changes in their life. Those people may then reach others. It's something to nurture and grow over time. Expecting microwave results in unrealistic and will only lead to frustration and surrender.

I will tell you this........I don't care if others attack me on this board when I fight stereotypes. I don't care [well, I do...but...you know] that my posts get deleted when I am trying to address the issue. I don't even care if they suspend me. Doing the right thing is important and it starts w/me. DC, I think you are a man of high character and I think you may be able to do the same things.

I will say that I have fought this battle for years. It's just that I had a much larger voice when I was teaching and coaching. I've gotten away from it last year because I am not out in the public as much. There are other venues, though. This place is just one of them.

Thanks for the stimulating conversation, guys. LOL

Most are silent when it comes to putting the emphasis on ourselves, but can't shut the hell up when assigning blame to others.

i can stimulate you if you want.

get a room.

this is the room.

voyeuring with popcorn.

"my eyes! my eyes!!!"