Boston Celtics swingman Jaylen Brown warned Georgia residents about violating urgent social-distancing measures in the wake of Governor Brian Kemp's polarizing decision to re-open essential and non-essential businesses and public places in the state. Brown, 23, a Georgia native and University of California-Berkeley product, spoke out against a supposed premature return to normal routines while the coronavirus (COVID-19) still looms as a massive public-health risk.

Brown is a fourth-year shooting guard and small forward coming off what could be his best year in the NBA following the professional sports league's forced-hiatus due to the coronavirus emergency, Brown cautioned Georgia residents to continue to self-isolate despite Gov. Kemp's reversal of public and business closures.

“As a Georgia native, I feel uneasy that I have family and I have friends there that will be the first to go back out into society,” he told CNN's Christina Macfarlane.

“I don't want to see Georgia be… the guinea pig for what the economy is trying to do and start back up.

“I just feel obligated,” Brown said of using his platform to influence society. “Coming from the community that I come from, even though I might have raised my social mobility by being an athlete and being able to have a certain level of economics, I come from humble beginnings.”

Brown also raised the alarm that people of color in the United States are being exponentially damaged, exposed, and even dying at greater rates due to COVID-19 than the rest of the populace. Additionally, Brown shared on his Instagram on Tuesday a message for Georgians to stay home when Gov. Kemp lifted the stay-at-home order.

States have been announcing different timetables when non-essential businesses can open depending on the public-health impact of coronavirus and medical experts. While Gov. Kemp has lifted Georgia's ban, first-term Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer extended her state's stay-at-home mandate through May 15.