Malcolm Brogdon on Milwaukee: 'I've Never Lived in a City This Segregated'

Playing three seasons for the Milwaukee Bucks has taught Malcolm Brogdon many things about life on and off the court.

In an interview with The Guardian's Donald McRae, Brogdon highlighted the level of segregation and lack of progressiveness he's seen in the city of Milwaukee. 

"Before I came to Milwaukee I'd heard the city was the most segregated in the country," Brogdon said. "I'd heard it was racist. When I got here it was extremely segregated. I've never lived in a city this segregated. Milwaukee's very behind in terms of being progressive. There are things that need to change rapidly.”

Milwaukee's lack of diversity has been talked about before by people within the Bucks organization.

During a September 2016 appearance at the Rotary Club of Madison, team president Peter Feigin made the following comments about the city, via Dennis Punzel of the Wisconsin State Journal:

"We know we can't cure the world. But we are very determined to get ourselves involved in programs that we can measure a difference in and put our claws into for a long period of time and show a difference.

"Very bluntly, Milwaukee is the most segregated, racist place I've ever experienced in my life. It just is a place that is antiquated. It is in desperate need of repair and has happened for a long, long time. One of our messages and one of our goals is to lead by example."

Feigin later backed down from those comments in a statement: "I was addressing a question about the social, economic and geographic divides that exist and how we can help address them. It wasn't my intention to characterize the general community as overtly racist."

Brogdon's comments about Milwaukee's lack of integration have proven to be accurate. A study released by the Brookings Institution in January found the city had the highest black-white segregation rate from 2013-17 at 79.8 percent. 

The third-year guard noted the Bucks' owners have encouraged players to be "forward thinking" and "speak out for what is good and right.”

Brogdon is currently in his third season with the Bucks. He was born in Atlanta and attended college at the University of Virginia before being a second-round draft pick by Milwaukee in 2016.