Wearing a hat embroidered with the simple phrase “VOTE” during his daily media availability on Wednesday in the NBA’s Orlando Bubble, Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers responded to President Donald Trump’s continued animosity toward the NBA by saying “justice is on our side.”
“We know that justice is on our side. This hat that I’m wearing is what our President is trying to get us to not do.”
Doc Rivers discusses President Trump’s comments about players kneeling during the national anthempic.twitter.com/51TtU6WBAa
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“We lost one guy, so really I don’t even care,” Rivers said in response to a question about Trump’s latest comments on Fox News Wednesday morning, when the president called the league’s peaceful pregame protest “disgraceful.”
The coach has been among the most vocal in the NBA about prioritizing social justice even during a championship run for his Clippers team. Rivers has joined in efforts to increase voter turnout and as one of the few Black coaches in the league, been open about his own personal perspective on racism in America.
“We know that justice is on our side,” Rivers added, “and this hat that I’m wearing is what our president is trying to get us to not do, which I think is just as disgraceful.”
Voting increasingly has become a vocal point among professional basketball players, from LeBron James’ More Than A Vote campaign, WNBA stars openly campaigning against U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler this week, and both leagues creating a dialogue with former Georgia State Rep. Stacey Abrams and her organization, Fair Fight, to use athlete activism to move more voters to the polling place this November.
