The Miami Heat hosted an online town hall to speak about racism, social injustice and police brutality. The event was held on Friday, in observance of Juneteenth.
All-Star guard Jimmy Butler revealed that he has felt the effects of racism from a young age, telling the story of being accosted by a child in a Walmart in Houston.
"A white man and his son, who is no older than maybe 6 -- I'm walking with my brother, and we hear the kid turn around and say, 'Hey, Dad, those are those n-words that you are telling me about,'" Butler explained. "The kid doesn't know any better. My initial reaction was to turn around and look at the father's face. I'm 6-[foot]-6, and my brother is 6-[foot]-1, and he's probably 6-foot, and yeah, he was intimidated by me. But the first thing that popped in my head was, 'You had to [have] taught him that.' [The kid] doesn't know that. My daughter, I have to teach her that the stove is hot. You are choosing to teach your kid hate.
"It was so confusing to me because I was 16. ... To me, that is what all of this stems from. Everybody is being taught this hate, and it is super hurtful. You know the difference between right and wrong. For that parent to teach his kid at that young of an age, there is no other word for it except for wrong. This is crazy. This is the world that we live in. Now is the time to change."
Other teammates explained their personal experiences with racism as well. Check out more stories here.
[Via]