Korver Writes Players’ Tribune Article On 2015 Thabo Incident; Westbrook, Fan Collison
Apr 8, 2019, 10:04 AM | Updated: 10:21 am
(Silas Walker, Deseret News)
(Silas Walker, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Utah Jazz and longtime NBA veteran Kyle Korver wrote an article on the Players’ Tribune about dealing with racism and speaking out on the 2015 incident in New York with Thabo Sefolosha and the fan incident with Russell Westbrook in Salt Lake City last month.
Korver was teammates with Sefolosha in 2015 with the Atlanta Hawks when Sefolosha was arrested at a night club in New York. A jury found the longtime veteran not guilty on all charges a few months after the incident.
Korver mentioned in the article that he didn’t approach the incident the right way when the Hawks found out that Sefolosha was arrested. He also had some things to say about Westbrook after the game.
The Players’ Tribune article from Kyle Korver can be found HERE.
I've been trying to write this for a while. https://t.co/Qkt8aoVtdE
— Kyle Korver (@KyleKorver) April 8, 2019
“You know Russ,” he said. “He gets into it with the crowd a lot.”
That was before he found out that the fan said some things to Westbrook that would later get him banned for life from Vivint Smart Home Arena.
With those two incidents in the rear view mirror, Korver still had a hard time dealing with how he handled it. He understands the problem that black Americans face in this country, but Korver wants to help send a message and making a difference by using his platform to change the way people are treated.
He states that we need to push ourselves another step further by “first identifying that less visible, less obvious behavior as what it is: racism,” Korver said in the Players’ Tribue article.
“And then second, by denouncing that racism – actively, and at every level,” he added.
.@utahjazz teammates @ThaboSefolosha, @EkpeUdoh, @GeorgesNiang20 and @KyleKorver open up in a powerful roundtable on racism and the @NBA. pic.twitter.com/8LGVohNvcJ
— The Players' Tribune (@PlayersTribune) April 8, 2019
Korver wants everyone who cheers for him, knows him or even buys his jersey to know that he believes it’s the responsibility of anyone on the privileged end of those inequalities to help make things right.
