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Joe Biden Quotes 76ers Head Coach Doc Rivers in Pennsylvania Campaign Speech
October 7, 2020
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden quoted Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers while making a campaign speech in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, per ESPN.
"Doc Rivers, the basketball coach, choking back tears when he said, 'We're the ones getting killed. We're the ones getting shot. We've been hung. It's amazing how we keep loving this country, and this country does not love us back.'
"I think about that. I think about what it takes for a Black person to love America. That is a deep love for this country that has for far too long never been recognized."
Lincoln University journalism professor Jay Scott Smith tweeted video of Biden's comments:
Biden's remarks were in reference to Rivers' comments to reporters on Aug. 25, two days after the Kenosha, Wisconsin, police shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man.
Rivers, 58, was named as the 76ers' head coach on Oct. 3, five days after he parted ways with the Los Angeles Clippers.
He played in the NBA from 1983 to 1995 with the Atlanta Hawks, Clippers, New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs and has been an NBA head coach for the Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, Clippers and 76ers.