When outrage and protests broke out after George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis on May 25, Minnesota Timberwolves Karl-Anthony Towns felt a newfound urge to fight for justice.

On May 29, Towns attended a news conference and rally with local leaders at Minneapolis City Hall, where former NBA player Stephen Jackson delivered passionate remarks about the death of Floyd, his childhood friend.

Towns had a clear and powerful motivation to become a more active leader in the fight against racism and police brutality: the tragic passing of his mother, Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, who died in April at age 58 due to COVID-19 complications.

In a new interview with The Undefeated, Towns articulated how his mother's passing inspired his activism:

“My mom would have wanted for me to be there,” Karl-Anthony Towns told Marc. J. Spears. “It gave me the push, the motivation to go. I found strength in myself to do something for others … I told [D'Angelo Russell] … ‘It’s always easy to do the right thing when it’s easy for you. But it’s very hard to do the right thing when it’s very inconvenient for you.’ And that is why I went. I knew it was the right thing to stand up for racial injustice and to find ways to help the youth and spread the message that this police brutality and racial injustice has to stop. Especially in a community that has given me the opportunity to live the life I live.”

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“But I really just feel like it was the strength of my mother that gave me the strength to even get out of the house and go outside,” Towns added.

Towns also praised his Timberwolves teammate, D'Angelo Russell, for finding his voice during the Black Lives Matter movement, specifically speaking out against the killing of Breonna Taylor in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky:

“We understand how precious and how important this moment is,” Karl-Anthony Towns explained. “For both of us to be Black men, me not only being Black but Afro Latino, we really understand that this moment is not supposed to happen for us. And we got to make the most of it to show the young generation that this is possible. It is possible to keep your morals and values, be a professional in all of this and not lose yourself. And to not follow the trends, but show the world what it is to be a good human being.”

Russell and Towns are planning on continuing advocating for change going forward.

Towns has heartbreakingly lost seven family members to COVID-19 during the pandemic.

Stay strong, KAT, and keep up the incredible work.