A clip of Golden State Warriors point guard Steph Curry speaking in panel on race and sports at the American Century Championship Celebrity Golf Tournament surfaced on Twitter.
In it, Curry talked about preconceived notions that even come with things that are presented as compliments: Specifically, the surprise over an “articulate” Black person.
“(The) preconceived notions of how they view rich, successful Black people as anomalies, and our intelligence and our well-spokenness, that’s always the first thing you hear,” Curry said. “If somebody knows how to be articulate, if they know how to come in a room, sit in a room, what’s it mean?”
There was some agreement from others in the group as he spoke.
Steph Curry with powerful words on racial inequality pic.twitter.com/0qzGPYcGP9
— Chris Montano (@gswchris) July 11, 2020
“That’s the subtle racism and prejudice that starts to add on itself,” he said. “If another white person hears that comment, they’re going to think the same exact thing.
In turn, those who are not articulate don’t get looked at with the same value as people who do speak the same way as the white person in the room.
“That’s not going to trickle down to anybody else and be able to create opportunities for somebody else to get in that room and prove their value, prove their worth,” Curry said.
At the Race and Sports in America: Conversations roundtable, will air at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on the GOLF Channel, NBCSN, NBC Sports Regional Networks and Olympic Channel.
Other athletes who took part in the discussion include NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, Los Angeles Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn, former Philadelphia Phillies star Jimmy Rollins and 10-time ATP tennis champion James Blake.
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