Speaking with ESPN’s “The Undefeated” last week, the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans’ coach Stan Van Gundy stated that whites “are the ones who are racist,” adding, “I’m a poster boy for white privilege.”
“We’re the ones that are racist,” said Van Gundy. “It’s a white person’s problem that affects people of color, and so we’re the ones who have to change. … Certainly you want to promote Black voices, right? But if they’re the only ones speaking out, a lot of people just push it aside. There needs to be people saying, ‘No, wait a minute. This is wrong, and we need to correct these things.’”
“I’m a poster boy for white privilege,” he continued. “I’ve led a privileged life, so I only know about these issues, and these problems, and these inequities from people I’ve been associated with, work with, know, care about. I don’t carry the issue. But just because something doesn’t happen to you, if it’s happening to people you know, if it’s happening to people you care about, you care about the issue.”
Last August, Van Gundy issued an attack on America in response to an article ripping the NBA. “When National Hockey League games used to turn into brawls, the joke was ‘I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out,’” he said. “Now you can tune into a social justice protest and a Chinese Basketball Association game might break out.”
The reference in the op-ed showcased the NBA’s obeisance to Communist China, but Van Gundy decided instead to attack America, tweeting: “We committed genocide against Native Americans. We have enslaved, lynched, segregated and incarcerated blacks over 400 years. Women couldn’t vote for 140 years. Using abuses elsewhere to try to distract from our own poor record on human rights is dishonest.”
We committed genocide against Native Americans. We have enslaved, lynched, segregated and incarcerated blacks over 400 years. Women couldn’t vote for 140 years. Using abuses elsewhere to try to distract from our own poor record on human rights is dishonest https://t.co/3TyPJrbZPA
Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin lauded Van Gundy to “The Undefeated,” asserting, “In an era like we’re living in, being someone who has a positive track record in the area of social justice was important, because it matters to … (Read more)
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