Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder praised star guard Donovan Mitchell for using his social media platform to promote social justice and cited some of the negative feedback as evidence that much more progress needs to be made.
Mitchell expressed dismay at the racist comments that some fans published in response to his Instagram post of an image that reads “free-ISH SINCE 1865” in honor of Juneteenth, the party that commemorates the actual end of slavery in the States US.
In a tweet hours later, Mitchell questioned how fans could cheer on the players but be so openly against their push for social justice.
“There have been many positive comments around Donovan’s post,” Snyder said during a video conference Thursday with reporters. “With that said, there were also some comments that were abominable and things that we should never tolerate.
“To the extent that you can rationalize some of those negative comments by saying there were positive comments, I think it’s a mistake. We all have to be so diligent, because as long as there are those comments, there is work to be done.”
Snyder, who is part of the NBA coaches association committee on injustice and racial reforms, has maintained the focus of the invitation on social justice issues. He said he would discuss basketball later as the expected restart of the NBA season was approaching.
Snyder stressed the need for people to educate themselves on social justice issues. He used the example of attending the Salt Lake City Juneteenth event, marching with his wife and four young children and listening to speeches.
“The road from complacency to complicity is a slippery track,” said Snyder. “I think that as we educate ourselves more and more, complacency falls and therefore is an opportunity to act.”
Utah is a unique NBA market in part because of its demographics. According to the census data, 2.3% of the Salt Lake City population is African American.
The Jazz franchise has been proactive in recent years in treating its fans’ reputation for disrespect for opponents, especially black players. Jazz definitely banned a fan in March 2019 a day after a heated confrontation with Russell Westbrook whom the then Oklahoma City Thunder star considered “completely disrespectful” and “racial”. In a statement, Jazz stated that “there is no place in our game for personal attacks or disrespect.”
Mitchell strongly supported Westbrook in a statement released on the day the fan was banished, writing in part that “it was not the first time something like this had happened in our arena” but that he had learned about Utah as “welcoming and inclusive” and that the “incident is not indicative of our fan base” as a whole.
With his social media posts last week, Mitchell again challenged the Jazz fan base on race-related issues.
“One of the things that has been talked about a lot is that it’s okay to be uncomfortable,” said Snyder. “Donovan was definitely uncomfortable at some level. It takes courage to defend what you believe in, and to the extent that it made other people and some of us uncomfortable, I think it’s a good thing.
“Part of what I think is that the challenge is not defensive for us. The things they say is not always an accusatory statement. We don’t need to be defensive about what we hear. We have to elaborate it, try to understand, because at that point, when we get more understanding, we can have that dialogue and start finding those ways we can unite. “
