NBA reflects spirit of MLK Day: Casey
Dwane Casey grew up in the Civil Rights era and Martin Luther King Day is an important holiday to commemorate.
“Being one of the older coaches in the league, I remember very vividly integration, segregation, all the things I went through,” the Toronto Raptors coach said. “It’s funny because some things have changed for the best and some things haven’t changed.
“Some of the same faces and eyes you see are doing some of the same things, but vaguely ... a little bit more veiled and kind of shielded.”
Casey said he believes King would like today’s NBA.
“You’re judged on how you play and not who you are or what country you’re from, what colour you are. It’s so many things that society should be more like,” he said. “I’m so happy that in our league there is equality, whether it’s gender, race, country, whatever it is. I think the NBA has done a great job of standing for what Dr. King was preaching.”
Casey said he tells his kids all the time about what his generation, subjected to racism and segregation, endured. “I remember going through integration. I went to my first day of school with white kids and being scared to death,” he said.
“There used to be fights every day because I was called the N word. Now, every day, some of those same guys are my friends.
“There is hope, there is optimism, there is a positive outlook and hopefully our leadership and our country will heed what Dr. King (stood for) and not just give it lip service for one day.
“We’re all human beings. We all breathe the same air, we all need the same water, we’re equal.”
The NBA has been very vocal on matters of race and bigotry, with some of the game’s biggest names taking offence when Donald Trump makes racially based comments.
“You hope and pray they (young generation of players) paid attention in class, paid attention when mom and dad, grandmother and grandfather were talking to them about segregation and the dogs, the Ku Klux Klan ... all that stuff.”