NBA Star Chris Paul knows a class act when he sees it, so the Houston Rockets All-Star immediately responded to fellow NBA star Kyle Korver‘s deep dive into white privilege for The Players Tribune. Paul, an African American from North Carolina, and Korver, a white American who went to high school in Iowa, have been in the same NBA for 14 years together. Yet they have hardly inhabited the same world, as Korver’s very confessional post makes clear.
Class act @KyleKorver ✊🏾 https://t.co/PhIm8I1bw2
— Chris Paul (@CP3) April 8, 2019
Korver explores how differently he is treated compared to many of his black teammates and league mates — outside the arena. It’s a searching piece about justice shared by a player who has earned great respect around the league from teammates and opponents of every background. Korver’s article, which he says took a long time to do, is a must read for anyone interested in systemic racism and the battle for equality.
Korver’s contribution is important precisely because he owns up to what many people deny in themselves. Korver says he is “embarrassed to admit it” but his first reaction — his “reflex” to news that his friend and teammate had been arrested — started him on a journey of accountability. Korver says:
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.
Read more at The Players Tribune.
