Rasheed Wallace is nothing if not outspoken. Over the course of his long and winding basketball career, that often came to the fore in the form of technical fouls or memorable quotes, but now he’s using his voice for something much more deep and meaningful — as an advocated for Flint, Michigan as it struggles with its ongoing water crisis.
Of course, because it’s Sheed, his piece for the Player’s Tribune is not some measured, political call for action. It’s angry, it’s filled with profanity, and it’s very, very real.
You probably think that, because they’re not all over your TV anymore, the problems of Flint are in the past.
Well, I’ve been visiting Flint for the past year, so let me tell you the truth.
Some of the folks in Flint can’t take showers because their water is still poisoned with lead.
They have to boil water, pour it into the sink and then wash in it.
Yeah, a grown-ass man has to take a bird bath. That shit ain’t right. It’s still going on today.
And it’s not going away anytime soon.
Wallace tells a story of going into a restaurant with the post-apocalyptic sign on the outside reading, “Our Water Is Safe,” and the anger he felt when he found that government employees were taking the time to survey residents on how they felt about the water crisis.
I couldn’t believe it.
How they feel?
Thousands upon thousands of kids exposed to extreme levels of lead in the water and the government apparently tried to cover it up — how the fuck do you think they feel?
Don’t nobody feel good about this. It’s a crisis.
I’m telling y’all. Anyone can go up there and see.
It’s a powerful reminder of what should be one of the greatest shames of our country, and our hats are off to Wallace for the work that he’s doing both helping out and spreading awareness. If you want to get involved, here’s a great website to show you how.
(Via The Player’s Tribune)
