Denver striker Will Barton said he will not wear a social justice message on his shirt, opting instead to continue trying to educate and “show people how to survive in this cruel world”.
“I feel like I’m cheating on my race,” Barton, who is Black, said why he decided not to wear a message on the back of his shirt. “At the end of the day, this will do nothing. Sport has been around for a long time; we have put on the shirts and tried to raise awareness. At this point, I feel that it will not really happen to do anything.
“I don’t even want to cheat my people like that. I would rather just keep trying to educate young people and just try to show people how to survive in this cruel world.”
After teammate Jerami Grant used the entire virtual interview session with reporters on Wednesday to keep the spotlight on Breonna Taylor’s death and police brutality, Barton is the last Nuggets player to talk about social justice.
Nuggets manager Michael Malone has also been explicit in continuing to keep the fight for social justice and Black Lives Matter in the spotlight and not letting NBA games focus on that.
“Always keep your attention on many who lost their lives due to police brutality or racism,” Barton said when asked what the role of the media was in NBA players trying to bring about the change of justice social. “We keep talking about it. In the end, none of these platforms will be enough; if we think that only we go out there and put names on the back of our shirts and we still talk about it in the media, we will repair anything, we are making fun of ourselves.”
On Friday, Barton said he intends to continue trying to make an impact at the community level and to educate young people in the best possible way.
“I had some bubbling things with my public relations team about talking to local children in my city, whether it’s YMCA, schools or having Zoom calls with them and just educating them about the world and how it is,” he said. said Barton, who is from Baltimore. “If we can’t change it with a revolution, then [teach them] how to survive in this world and still be successful, to be able to take care of yourself and the people you care about most. I’m already active where I come from anyway. I’m always in the trenches. I always talk to them and offer them free play. So I will continue to do it. “
Barton echoed a sentiment shared with The Denver Post in late June that “the only way for real change to come is through a revolution.”
“Like I said, if it can’t be a revolution, we have to learn to survive in this cruel world,” said Barton. “So I will give them the game on how to survive and still be successful because they are a living testimony. I understand it.”
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