Watch NBA coach Doc Rivers compare anthem protests to George Floyd’s death
The restart of the 2019-20 NBA season thrilled fans Thursday night, starting with the Utah Jazz’s 106-104 victory over Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans. While the first game started with a fever-pitch, the thriller of the night was the Los Angeles Lakers’ 103-101 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Even though his team came up short, Clippers head coach Doc Rivers sounded like he had his mind on other things when speaking to the media following the loss to LeBron James and the Lakers.
“The national anthem took 2 minutes,” Rivers said with only his eyes visible over a black face mask donning the Clippers logo. “There were guys who needed towels and things to get under their knees. And yet, someone kneeled on another human being’s neck for 8 minutes. That’s nuts.”
Rivers was comparing the moment to the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died while in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25. His death sparked an avalanche of protests across the nation, including the NBA, WNBA and MLB protests that have been taking place as sports return following the coronavirus shutdown. George died after now-fired Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for about 8 minutes, as three other officers didn’t intervene. All four were fired and arrested.
The NBA restarted with players, coaches and officials sending a powerful message by kneeling during the national anthem by as a public service announcement about systemic racism was projected in the arena. During the Lakers-Clippers protest, the Compton Kidz Club played over the video boards, which took around a minute and 40 seconds.
This story was originally published July 31, 2020 at 11:39 AM with the headline "Watch NBA coach Doc Rivers compare anthem protests to George Floyd’s death."