“They don’t get the political power or the financial power to change the circumstances, so what are they going to do? The riots are the voices of people who have no voice. This is how they have made their presence known.”
“I just remember seeing a sign that someone stopped in Minneapolis saying, ‘Can you hear us now?’ I think it is a very moving statement. “
Although Abdul-Jabbar says the majority of the police force is not an issue, “something has to change” with the way African Americans are treated by a minority of law enforcement officers.
“There have always been some white Americans who understand that what they see is criminal and wrong and that people cannot live with it, but there have been no changes.”
“There is no way to get rid of the bad cops. We don’t want to get rid of the incredible men and women who guard our streets. We don’t want to get rid of them, but there are some bad cops among them, and we need to find an effective way to get rid of them that don’t threaten the rest of the police, the 99% of them who do such a wonderful job day after day, and often not grateful for it. “
‘Necessary but frustrating’
Meanwhile, San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, a vocal critic of United States President Trump, says the lack of leadership by the President of the United States is “incredible.”
In addition to criticizing President Trump, Popovich has never been shy in speaking about racism or police brutality.
While Popovich called the protests “necessary,” his organization has frustrated the 71-year-old coach.
“But if you’re just organizing protests and they all come and go in all directions, it doesn’t work that way.”
“If it wasn’t violent, they knew it wasn’t violent, but this is confusing. Greater leadership would be very welcome, so these incredible mass protests cannot be used by people by other means. We can limit the bad, but only if things are better organized. “
