Patty Mills to donate over $1 million to fight racism

Australia’s own Patty Mills of Canberra has agreed to pledge over $1 million to fight racism according to the Associated Press on Wednesday. Mills’s donation of $1, 017, 818.54 comes at a time when a large portion of the global population is fighting for racial equality.

So one might wonder why Mills is donating the peculiar amount of $1, 017, 818.54? Well, the reason is because that is the amount he is to be paid for the rest of the regular season. Mills’s overall salary in 2019-20 is $12, 428, 571.

The organizations that will profit from Mills’s generous financial contribution are Black Lives Matter Australia, the We Got You campaign, and Black Deaths in Custody. This past weekend according to the Associated Press, there were several thousand protestors at a rally in Sydney. The protestors tried to raise awareness of racial inequality and the number of Indigenous people who have died over the years by Australian police. The We Got You Campaign was co-organized by Mills to address issues of racism in Australian sport. The Black Deaths in Custody program raises awareness of the issue that a large portion of the Australian Indigenous population has died over the years while in custody.

Mills meanwhile is having a career-year in San Antonio. He is averaging a career-best 11.7 points per game. Mills also has a field goal percentage of .429, three-point percentage of .380, and free-throw percentage of .861. In 63 games, Mills is averaging 1.8 assists per game and 1.6 rebounds per game. Mills’s best game this season came in a 127-110 Spurs win over the Golden State Warriors. Mills scored 31 points while coming off the bench.

The Spurs meanwhile are 12th in the Western Conference with a record of 27 wins and 36 losses. They are four games back of the Memphis Grizzlies for a playoff spot.