NUGGETS’ MURRAY SUPPORTS CHANGE
Nuggets guard Jamal Murray has been emboldened by the protests since the death of George Floyd. Change, he believes, can come in the form of education, awareness and engagement. “And you have to be a part of that for it to change.”
Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray kept coming back to one singular word: blatant.
When processing the emotionally charged protests now sweeping the country in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, Murray couldn’t get past how fearlessly police treat black and brown people.
“I just think about all the stories that I have growing up with my dad,” Murray said Friday. “How obvious it is. … The stuff that the cops do, the stuff that happens, what bothers us in the black community is that it’s so blatant. It’s blatant, I don’t know how to explain it. The word is perfect. It’s so out in the open, where if you can’t see it, then you’re part of the problem.”
The protests and the civil unrest have emboldened Murray.
Change, he believes, can come in the form of education, awareness and engagement.
“Whether it’s your top priority, second priority, even if you don’t have time for it, it’s something that has to change,” Murray said. “And you have to be a part of that for it to change.”
Speaking on a conference call with local media, the first time he’s spoken public ally since the season was suspended on March 11, Murray was thrilled over Thursday’s vote that all-but assured the season would resume in Orlando, Florida. He answered “Why not?” when asked about the Nuggets’ chances to win a title and underscored how dangerous he felt he and Nikola Jokic could be when running their pick-androll.
During the hiatus he, Jokic, Will Barton, Monte Morris and Vlatko Cancar remained in Denver, hopeful of a possible resumption. But even as he’s stayed fit, honing his legs in the weight room and staying in rhythm during individual workouts at the Nuggets’ team facility, Murray said he’s been heartened by the outpouring of attention on police brutality.
“It’s mostly with the cops, when you see, they go through this training, they go through the physicals, they go through the
combat training and techniques,” Murray said. “I feel like they can’t wait to use everything that they’ve learned, everything that they’ve been taught through the system, they can’t wait to use that, they can’t wait to use their power on the people, on the black community, on people that they don’t really think matter.
“That’s why Black Lives Matter,” he said. “They do stuff that is so blatant, they poke you, they jab you, they try to intimidate you, they try to make you do stuff under duress, under emotion. When people act a certain way, then they use it as their excuse to do something.”
After most topics had been addressed, including Murray’s latest kitchen recipes, the Nuggets’ thoughtful point guard asked the assembled media members what instances of racism they’d endured.
What ensued was a thoughtful back-and-forth on peoples’ honest, raw stories. After several shared their stories, Murray shared his.
He told the story of how he and his dad were driving to Orangeville Prep, his prep school in
Ontario.
A police car had cut them off and when they went to pass the car, following the speed limit, they were pulled over.
“What are the odds?” Murray said sarcastically. “We’re sitting there like, ‘If we pass him, this is going to happen. Watch. I’m like ‘OK.’ We pass him, guess what happens.”
Tailgating, they were told. Murray recounted another story where he and his dad were profiled while walking home at night after practicing basketball. Two cops randomly asked to search them. They were told they “fit the description.”
“My dad’s like, ‘Were they black? Did they say what they were?’” the younger Murray said. “You could see them hesitate where they weren’t prepared for that question, you know?”
Murray said that the basketball hiatus forced by the coronavirus pandemic had given him pause to reflect and consider his own priorities.
“When I see the community come together like this, it really shifts a mental switch in your head that basketball is not the only thing that matters in the world.”