Indiana Pacers big man Myles Turner has chosen “Respect Us” as his jersey statement for the NBA restart, and for a good reason.
According to Turner, this is a message that hits home for him:
“I wasn’t exactly sure how I was going to use my voice, voice my opinions and the opinions of my people,” the Pacers center said, via J. Michael of Indy Star. “Educating ignorant people out there who really don't know where we’re coming from. They see us as pieces to a game they just watch.
“We're not just entertainment pieces. We're more than just athletes… We deserve more respect as people.”
Myles Turner is thinking along the lines of the “shut up and dribble” controversy here. The Pacers star wants to remind everyone that NBA players are people too — something that some folks seem to conveniently forget about at times.
For the 24-year-old big man, it came to a point for him that he almost opted not to participate in the Disney World bubble. Turner had a very personal experience with the pandemic, with his own father testing positive for COVID-19.
Thankfully, Turner's dad pulled through and has made a full recovery. However, this served as a wake up call for Turner. The health risks that he's required to take upon joining the Pacers in the bubble seemed to be too overwhelming for him, and in truth, it would have been completely understandable if he stayed home to be with his family.
Then again, Turner honored his commitment to his team. Nevertheless, he wants to use this decision as a platform to remind everyone out there that NBA players like himself are human beings first before anything else.
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