Coach on shooting: We need to have change
Before Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer took any questions from reporters prior to the team’s NBA Eastern Conference series Game 4 against the Magic on Monday, he wanted to address the Jacob Blake shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
“I’d just like to send out my thoughts and prayers to Jacob Blake and his family,” Budenholzer began. “Another young Black man shot by a police officer. We need to have change. We need to be better. And I’m hoping for the best for him and his family. I’m hoping for the best as we work through this in Wisconsin, in Milwaukee and in Kenosha. So, thoughts and prayers with Jacob Blake.”
Kenosha police shot Blake on Sunday, and video of the shooting appears to show an officer firing several shots at close range.
Blake was airlifted to a hospital where he was listed in serious condition.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation said early Monday that the involved officers, who were responding to a domestic incident, have been placed on administrative leave.
NBA players and coaches have been outspoken and adamant in their demand for social justice and racial equality.
Budenholzer said the Bucks had not addressed the issue yet as a team.
“But I can tell you it’s on the players’ minds,” he said. “It’s on the coaches’ minds. It’s on our staff’s mind. It’s on our organization’s mind. Certainly, a lot of respect for a playoff game that’s very important to us. But an incident like this is more important than anything we’re doing in Orlando.
“There was a lot of talk before this that we needed to continue this conversation. We needed to be better as a country — have no more of those incidents and understand Black lives matter. So, maybe not between now and the game, but sometime soon, as a team, we can sit and discuss and share and just continue to push forward, try to find progress, try to find systemic change that’s lasting.”
The Bucks also released a statement. “The Bucks organization is praying for the recovery of Jacob Blake, who was shot multiple times in the back by a police officer at point blank range in Kenosha, Wisconsin yesterday. Our hearts go out to his family and friends,” the statement read.
“We stand firmly against reoccurring issues of excessive use of force and immediate escalation when engaging the Black community.
“Our organization will continue to stand for all Black lives as we demand accountability and systemic change on behalf of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Sylville Smith, Ernest Lacy, Dontre Hamilton, Tony Robinson, Joel Acevedo and countless other victims. We will work to enact policy change so these incidents no longer exist.”