Raptors news: Pascal Siakam admits questioning whether coming to bubble was right

Toronto Raptors star Pascal Siakam admitted he questioned whether coming to the NBA bubble was the right thing to do amid so much racial unrest.

Like some of his teammates, Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam is unhappy with the rate of social change in the United States. As part of Wednesday's media session, the Cameroonian revealed that he had questioned his trip to the NBA's bubble complex in Florida in the wake of the racial injustices that continue to unfold.

Siakam ultimately chose to join his teammates in Florida, and now many of them are voicing their opinions on this matter. For Pascal, “traumatized” was the descriptive word for his emotional state after the death of George Floyd earlier this year.

Over the weekend, another unarmed black man was shot by police officers — this time in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Jacob Blake was hit at least seven times in his backside, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.

Siakam says he hasn't watched the video footage of Blake's shooting:

Raptors forward Pascal Siakam says he didn’t want to watch the Jacob Blake after being “traumatized” from George Floyd video. Siakam says he had questioned whether he made a good decision or not to come here.

— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) August 26, 2020

Siakam hasn't been the only member of the Raptors organization to speak out on racial injustice and excessive use of force from police officers. His teammates, Fred VanVleet and Norman Powell, first brought up the possibility of a boycott to get drive the message home:

“The police officers that are involved in these instances aren’t scared… the taxpayers are paying for these administrative leaves,” Powell said in a recent interview with The Athletic. “Ain’t nothing gonna change (until we) stand up and demand things. Until that is done, ain’t sh** gonna change.”

The Raptors are set to open their second round series against the Boston Celtics on Thursday night. Tip-off inside the NBA's bubble complex is set for 6:30 p.m. ET, with ESPN having live broadcast coverage. Whether or not a boycott will come to pass remains to be seen, but the Raptors and Celtics have talked about the possibility and will continue to do so leading up to Game 1.