Don’t misunderstand Garrett Temple: he was not disappointed or even surprised by the fact that teammate Nets and union colleague Kyrie Irving expressed doubts about the NBA restart.
But after seeing George Floyd’s murder finally awaken America from racial injustice – and watch the white alliance grow for Black Lives Matter – Temple said on Sunday on Zoom that this moment is too big to miss, too important. not to capitalize.
“Everyone has their own thoughts on how to influence change,” said Temple. “The main point is that everyone wants the same thing. Kyrie, myself, most of the black men in the NBA who are passionate about this – or if they weren’t, most of them are now – we want the same thing. There are many different ways to skin a cat.
“The conversations were actually those conversations: think about how we can use this extra boost, these extra ears and the extra eyes on this situation. Everyone understood that this is a little different than three or four years ago, the world was still and this happened again, and because of the pandemic situation, people have to look, that’s the only thing that was going on.
“Like black men, black men in America, this is a daily struggle. So the way we can use those two or three months in Orlando to keep pushing the narrative, to keep it fresh in people’s minds, is something we can do in terms of keeping it in people’s minds. … We can really use our bubble, ESPN and Turner to help us push that narrative. “
As vice president of the National Basketball Players Association, Temple took part in a series of calls not only with the union, but with players and teammates. And after NBPA representatives voted to sign the reboot, Irving – who became a vice-president union this season – then expressed doubts and said he pressured the players to boycott.
“No, I wasn’t necessarily surprised. This is a great time. This is so different; it’s new to everyone, “Temple said.” Many people have rethought. I guess more than half of the … players who are going have had second thoughts, so I wasn’t surprised.
“But I was glad that the calls came and the players talked, because that’s what we need. We have to talk about situations like this, whether it’s a union meeting or if we can’t, a Zoom call. As long as we can keep you out next time. “
For Temple, playing is a personal sacrifice. His fiancée, Miss USA 2017, Kara McCullough, is slated for their first child in September. Being in Orlando will keep him away for the later stages of his pregnancy, even if he leaves the bubble for birth.
“I’m coming back to see my first child born,” said Temple. “It’s not even in the question.”
Passing on generational wealth to that child – and building it in the black community as a whole – was an important discussion point for Temple.
“Those who are given a lot, a lot are required,” said Temple. “So if I do what I should do [that wealth], I will feel the obligation to give to causes for which I feel strongly. … I can therefore transmit those same values to people and they can help more and more communities. “
CNN activist and analyst Van Jones spoke with the entire organization, as well as with players in smaller groups.
“One thing he was saying was that we want you to keep playing. You are some of the few black people in America who have some money, so we don’t want you to stop it, “said Temple. “But his biggest thing for us was to continue to have homes like black, black women in America, which sees a change in the way things go.”
Temple saw the same change, underlined by the difference in reaction to when George Zimmerman’s acquittal for the 2012 Trayvon Martin killing went largely unnoticed.
“Nobody seemed to care,” said Temple. “It made me angry that he was so alien to so many people, or that people didn’t even pay attention to it.
“Eight or nine years later, it seems that people are finally starting to worry that unarmed black men are brutalized by the police and that black Americans in general are marginalized. So the biggest thing I see is the difference in how it has affected or everyone is trying to help. “
.
