Six active NBA players fighting for racial equality

The massive protests in the United States right now are significant. Ever since African-American George Floyd was killed last week after being knelt on by a Minneapolis police officer for a minimum of seven minutes, there have been significant protests throughout the United States. Unfortunately during a time when Americans should be social distancing because of coronavirus, many have entered the streets and are protesting in high numbers. Here are six players in the NBA who have attended rallies or participated in protests in recent days to fight for racial equality.

6) Josh Okogie–The Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard from Lagos, Nigeria attended a rally with Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns in Minneapolis on Friday. According to Adam Zagoria of Forbes Magazine, Okogie said, “I think the people, they want everybody to be arrested, all the officers. Even watching the video, all of the officers were negligent, and none of the officers acted accordingly.” On Friday, former police offer Derek Chauvin was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter, but there have not yet been any criminal charges laid against the other three officers who were bystanders. All four officers have lost their jobs. In 2019-20, Okogie was in his second season in Minnesota, and averaged 8.6 points per game and 4.3 rebounds per game.

5) Dennis Smith Jr.–The fourth-year NBA point guard was protesting alongside rapper J. Cole in his native city of Fayetteville, North Carolina on Saturday. Smith, who is 22 years old, and a member of the New York Knicks, attended the protest without wearing a mask.

4) Malcolm Brogdon–The guard from Atlanta joined the Indiana Pacers this season after playing his first three NBA seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks. Known for his strong free throw shooting, he led the NBA in 2018-19, with a free throw percentage of .928. This season in Indiana, Brogdon averaged 16.3 points per game and 7.1 assists per game. He was seen protesting in Atlanta on Saturday alongside Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics.

3) Tobias Harris–The ninth-year NBA power forward was seen protesting in Philadelphia, the city where he currently plays for as he is a member of the 76ers. Harris was part of a peaceful protest, and was among a group of people marching towards the Art Museum. This season with Philadelphia, Harris is averaging 19.4 points per game on a 76ers squad that is sixth in the Eastern Conference.

2) Jaylen Brown–The small forward for the Boston Celtics reportedly drove 15 hours from Boston to Atlanta to be part of the protests. The native of Marietta, Georgia was averaging 20.4 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per game for Boston. Brown said the following on Instagram. “First and foremost, I’m a black man and I’m a member of this community. We’re raising awareness for some of the injustices that we’ve been seeing. It’s not OK.”

1) Karl-Anthony Towns–The veteran center and two-time all-star with the Timberwolves, Towns and Okogie were seen at a rally and press conference in Minneapolis on Friday set up by former NBA veteran Stephen Jackson of Houston, Texas. During the protest, Towns wore a “Black Lives Matter” hat.  Towns, who averaged 26.5 points per game and 10.8 rebounds per game this season, is a native of Edison, New Jersey. This has been a terrible time for Towns, as his mother died of coronavirus on April 13.