Former NBA player Stephen Jackson challenged professional athletes to hold sports executives “accountable” for using their status to ignite meaningful change and help improve racial inequities.
Addressing his “NFL homies, my NBA homies, and my Major League Baseball homies,” Jackson said “it's time to hold our owners, GMs, vice presidents, everybody at the top, accountable.”
Jackson pointed out that while the owners love to profit off players, they don't have a great track record fighting against injustice:
“They want you to dance, they want to you to smile, promote … represent the organization the right way, right? But they not fighting for us, I don't hear none of 'em. It's time to hold them accountable. Hold y'all president accountable. Hold y'all owner accountable. Because nine out of 10 times, if they ain't speaking with us, then they against us. They love you bringing all that money in, but why they ain't speaking up when our kids getting murdered? Or when our black men, black women getting murdered?”
“The time is now … you can't play both sides,” Jackson concluded.
Watch his full comments below:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CA8RuRylX7F/
The former NBA player was a childhood friend of George Floyd, from Houston, whom he referred to as “Twin.” Jackson has become an outspoken voice during the outcry since Floyd, 46, died in the custody of Minneapolis police on May 25 after being pinned to the ground.
On Friday, Jackson delivered passionate remarks at a press conference at Minneapolis City Hall that called for the arrest of the four police officers who were present in the incident. Derek Chauvin was later charged with third-degree murder, while the other three officers remain under investigation.
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