Giannis Antetokounmpo Discusses Perspective on Racism in America

The Milwaukee Bucks used tipoff to make a statement, and after the game, two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo used his platform to speak openly about his feelings.

At the start of the Bucks' game against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night, Antetokounmpo won the tipoff and pushed the ball out of bounds before both teams took a knee at center court, where they remained for 10 seconds.

The demonstration came as the league decided to proceed with its 11-game slate in the wake of a pro-Donald Trump mob storming the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., earlier in the day, resulting in four deaths and multiple injuries. Wednesday's violence came a day after Kenosha (Wisconsin) District Attorney Michael Graveley announced that the police officer who shot Jacob Blake in August would not be charged.

"At the end of the day, when I stop playing basketball and while I'm playing basketball, my kid is gonna grow up here in America," Antetokounmpo said. "My kid is Black. And I can not imagine my kid going through what I see and what I see on the TV."

The Bucks were behind the protests in the playoffs this summer. They decided not to play following the shooting of Blake, a Black man who was shown on video being shot seven times by officer Rusten Sheskey. Blake is paralyzed from the waist down.

Milwaukee's decision to sit out prompted other teams to follow suit, leading to a three-day pause on the postseason as players refused to return until the league committed to help the cause for social justice reform and follow multiple agreements.

"If while I'm living and while I'm breathing, I can do something about it to even change it toward the better ... I'm gonna do it," Antetokounmpo said. "I'm gonna speak out about it, but at the end of the day, I've got to educate myself and I've got to inform myself even more."