Kyle Korver Talks Racism, White Privilege After Russell Westbrook-Fan Incident
In a piece for The Players' Tribune, Utah Jazz guard Kyle Korver wrote at length about the dynamic of white privilege and how it relates to his career and the NBA in general.
Korver opened by recounting Thabo Sefolosha's 2015 arrest in New York City, during which Sefolosha suffered a broken fibula. He then brought up Russell Westbrook confronting a Jazz fan, whom Westbrook said had used a racial taunt. The Jazz subsequently banned the fan for life.
Korver then stepped back to look at the bigger picture:
"What I'm realizing is, no matter how passionately I commit to being an ally, and no matter how unwavering my support is for NBA and WNBA players of color….. I'm still in this conversation from the privileged perspective of opting in to it. Which of course means that on the flip side, I could just as easily opt out of it. Every day, I'm given that choice — I'm granted that privilege — based on the color of my skin."
Regarding Sefolosha, Korver said his initial instinct was to look critically toward his then-Atlanta Hawks teammate:
"Anyway — on the morning I found out that Thabo had been arrested, want to know what my first thought was? About my friend and teammate? My first thought was: What was Thabo doing out at a club on a back-to-back??
"Yeah. Not, How's he doing? Not, What happened during the arrest?? Not, Something seems off with this story. Nothing like that. Before I knew the full story, and before I'd even had the chance to talk to Thabo….. I sort of blamed Thabo."
Prosecutors said Sefolosha resisted arrest and failed to follow the orders of police officers at a crime scene, but a jury acquitted Sefolosha of all charges. He filed a civil lawsuit against five NYPD officers and settled the suit in April 2017.
Korver then described one postgame interaction with a reporter following the game in which the Jazz fan taunted Westbrook. Paraphrasing what he told the reporter, Korver wrote, "I told him I hadn't seen it—and added something like, 'But you know Russ. He gets into it with the crowd a lot.'"
Following that game, the Jazz held a meeting, with players describing nights when they were subjected to the same abuse Westbrook was. Korver explained how hearing all of those experiences drove home further how, by virtue of his skin color, he'll never have to deal with the same issues.
The 16-year NBA veteran argued banning the fan who taunted Westbrook was the right decision yet is only one step in an arduous process to truly address the problem. He said it's not enough for white players to show support for their peers publicly; they need to provide the same kind of support and solidarity in private as well.
