Raptors' VanVleet not ruling out boycott over Jacob Blake shooting
Warning: Story contains coarse language
NBA players continue to react to the latest U.S. police shooting of an unarmed Black man, and on Tuesday a pair of Toronto Raptors players expressed frustration and disappointment.
A video recording captured a police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, shooting Jacob Blake in the back several times Sunday. Blake remains hospitalized as of Tuesday.
Guard Fred VanVleet said it's made him wonder if the NBA's reaction to the killing of George Floyd in police custody in May was enough.
"What are we willing to give up?" he asked reporters. "Do we actually give a fuck about what's going on? Or is it just quota where, you know, Black Lives Matter on the backdrop or (on a) T-shirt. What does that really mean? Is it really doing anything?"
VanVleet added that figures around the NBA might have to put more on the line in the interest of justice.
"(It) would ... be nice if, in a perfect world, we all said, 'We're not playing,' and the owner of the Milwaukee Bucks (the NBA franchise closest to Kenosha) ... steps up to the plate and puts pressure on the district attorney's office, the state's attorneys and governors and politicians there to make real change and get some justice," he said.
"I know it's not that simple, but at the end of the day, if we're going to sit here and talk about making change, then at some point we're going to have to put our nuts on the line and actually put something up to lose."
Asked if the Raptors had discussed boycotting games, VanVleet said the team had talked about several options.
"We had a meeting this morning, a number of things are being discussed, so I'll keep that between our team," he said. He added: "There's a lot of different things being discussed."
VanVleet's teammate Norman Powell said slogans on the court and kneeling for the national anthem no longer seem sufficient.
"Taking a knee for the anthem, that's not getting the job done," Powell said. "It's starting to get washed out. ... Something has to happen where you're forcing those people who can effect and make the change to do something."
Powell said those in power are clearly not getting the message.
"I'm tired of sitting up here and talking about Black Lives Matter ... and trying to effect change, and you constantly see people in law enforcement - some people, I'm not going to put that burden and say everybody in law enforcement ... but there are some officers in law enforcement that need to be held accountable for their actions," he said. "I'm tired of reading and seeing these instances and these police officers put on administrative leave."
The Raptors are scheduled to open their second-round series against the Boston Celtics on Thursday.