Despite the NBA's rather inconclusive investigation, Elijah Millsap doubled down on his allegations that Utah Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey made racist comments towards him during his exit interview with the team six years ago. In an interview with The Athletic,
Millsap, the younger brother of Denver Nuggets forward Paul Millsap, explained why he still stands by his story and chose to end his silence on the alleged racist act done by the Jazz executive.
“It’s one of those divine timing things, where you just know it’s right to do,” Millsap said during an hour-plus phone interview last week, when asked why he went public now with his claim. “I’m ready to be free from it and accept what comes from it. I felt like it’s a perfect time. The way America is right now, we’re subjected to being put in a class, a class of people. There’s right and there’s wrong. And so if I don’t stand up and say this was wrong, I’m on their side, subliminally, not openly. I know I have to live with it. I want to help move this country forward, with my story. By all means. If it costs me my career, I guess so be it.”
Obviously, Millsap isn't motivated by getting back into the league. This is definitely bigger than basketball.
As written in the article by The Athletic, the 6-foot-6 guard, who had carved out a solid bench role with the Jazz in the 2014-15 season, narrated how things went down during the exit interview in 2015. Millsap noted just how the energy was different when he entered the room. The 33-year old disputed his role on a promising young team that, although didn't make the postseason, finished the regular season strong. During the heated discussion, that's apparently when Lindsey “irately” uttered the alleged racial comments.
Millsap revealed he was obviously distraught, but just suppressed his feelings in the moment. Now, with racism becoming a big issue, Millsap chose to finally speak up and let his story serve as just one of the many anecdotes of racism in the United States.
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