Election gamesmanship enters locker-room talk
Raptors all-star Kyle Lowry is thinking about the safety of his loved ones south of the border. Arizona-born Leafs rookie
Auston Matthews — who dressed up as infamous presidential debate questioner Ken Bone for a Halloween stunt — calls the whole thing “very wacky” and might not vote at all. As the polarizing U.S. election campaign draws to a close, everyone has a stake — and an opinion. When it comes to the local sports scene, some are more willing to share that opinion than others.
Dwane Casey and the Toronto Raptors didn’t fly over the White House this past week when they played in Washington, D.C., but the coach didn’t need to see it. The White House, and who will be occupying it for the next four years, has weighed heavily on their minds as the intense U.S. election has worked its way toward Tuesday’s conclusion.
“You think about it (in Washington). You still think about it,” Casey said. “You see what direction the country is going in and you want to make sure it’s going in the right direction.”
Casey grew up in Morganfield, Ky., in the early 1960s. As a child, he saw the Ku Klux Klan protest against an activist arguing for the end of segregation. The activists won that battle, and Casey went from an all-black school to a mixed one to start the fourth grade. He’s seen his country divided and while he’s quick to admit that there’s division today, it’s nothing like what he once saw.
“I see it divided between Republicans and Democrats. I don’t think it’s divided as far as race is concerned,” he said.
“They may try to make it an issue, but I don’t see it as divided as far as what it was in the ’60s. It’s just ideology between the (two parties). We have to make sure the right person gets into office.”
For Casey, that person is Hillary Clinton. He said Donald Trump’s lack of political experience is a concern to him.
“I look at their experience just like I would in a basketball coach or a player, a person that’s been there before,” Casey said.
“The inexperience that (Trump is) bringing to the table is what con- cerns me more than anything else. We’re at a time in our nation that we need that experience, that steady hand, that’s what I would say. The unknown is scary.”
There’s something of a bubble that comes with being an American NBA player in Canada, said point guard Kyle Lowry, now in his fifth season with the Raptors. But he thinks about his two young sons and the country they’ll continue to grow up in.
“It’s very important to put the right people in the right position of power,” he said.
Lowry grew up in a rough north Philadelphia neighbourhood and worries about those close to him who are still there, and what their relationships with police will be like.
“It sucks to be in this situation where you’ve got to worry about the people who are protecting you, and worry about people who are trying to harm you,” he said.
“Me, as a parent, I just want my kids to be happy and grow up not having to worry about things I grew up worrying about.
“That’s why it’s important your voice is heard in some way. It may be a small voice in a big pond, but you’ve got to do it.”
Said Casey: “There’s no perfect candidate that’s ever been in office. You look at all the candidates through history and there have always been questions. I do think this is a very important election in our history.” With files from Doug Smith