In a perfect world, black coaches wouldn’t need the support of white coaches, but Casey believes they make a difference. “We have a commissioner, Adam Silver, who allows us and encourages us to speak our minds,” Casey said. “I’m so proud of my colleagues. I love that Steve and Gregg and Quin have stepped up. I love what Ryan has said. I really wonder what Flip [Saunders] would think about what’s going on in Minneapolis.”
Tag: Ryan Saunders
Jon Krawczynski: Wolves are …
Jon Krawczynski: Wolves are disappointed to be left out of restart, but preparing to have some sort of team activities. Saunders: “We’re also very confident we’ll have opportunities to get our group together this summer at some point.”
Malika Andrews: On a call with …
Malika Andrews: On a call with reporters, Wolves’ Gersson Rosas and Ryan Saunders spoke extensively about supporting their players who participate in #blacklivesmatter protests. Rosas said the team works to make sure players who are protesting in Minneapolis have PPE and are tested for COVID.
The Kings also released a new PSA, …
The Kings also released a new PSA, entitled “A Call to Action for White People,” calling for unity and action following the death of George Floyd, who died while being subdued by a Minneapolis police officer. The two-minute video, made in collaboration with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Minnesota Lynx and Sacramento Area Youth Speaks, features players from all three teams, including De’Aaron Fox, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Marvin Bagley III, Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell. Others speakers include Kings general manager Vlade Divac, Kings coach Luke Walton, Timberwolves coach Ryan Saunders, and former Kings players Bobby Jackson and Doug Christie.
The partnership with the Minneapolis …
The partnership with the Minneapolis Foundation will include Wolves coach Ryan Saunders and Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve serving on one of two advisory committees with oversight on directing funds to Fund for Safe Communities, which seeks to prevent violence, reform the criminal justice system and address systemic inequality.
“You watch that video and you get a …
“You watch that video and you get a sick feeling to your stomach,” Saunders said in a phone conversation on Thursday. “Talking with our players, you feel the pain that I acknowledge that I have not had to deal with because of the way I look. So I think it’s important to stand united and let it be known that it’s disgusting.”
Across all those NBA trips he had taken …
Across all those NBA trips he had taken as a young man with his father, Flip, all those years as a University of Minnesota player, a professional assistant and, now, coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Ryan Saunders never considered the stresses attached to a grown man leaving his hotel for a run through a different city. After George Floyd died in police custody this week in Minneapolis, Saunders listened to one of his African American colleagues describe how he must consider the possibility that fastening a cellphone to his side could give someone justification to believe he’s reaching for a gun.
“Waist or armband?” Saunders told ESPN …
“Waist or armband?” Saunders told ESPN on Wednesday night. “I never knew that was a thing. I do now.” Yes, this was the conversation Saunders wanted to start with his Timberwolves. This has long been his town, his team, and Saunders wanted his players and staff to understand that he needed to be more than another white Minnesotan — another white American — on Instagram simply sickened by the killing of a defenseless black man.
“I am a white male in a position of …
“I am a white male in a position of leadership, and I don’t take lightly the fact that I have not experienced some of these things that our individual guys have had to experience,” Saunders told ESPN. “So I wanted to make sure we were listeners, that we could become more educated as people completely inexperienced in never getting the benefit of the doubt. I grew up in Minnesota and this hasn’t been sitting well with me for the past two days. Sometimes the silence can be deafening too. When we’re given opportunity to speak on what’s right, I think it’s important to do that.”
Jon Krawczynski: Wolves Coach Ryan …
Jon Krawczynski: Wolves Coach Ryan Saunders is almost never on social media. He took to Instagram today to speak out on George Floyd’s death pic.twitter.com/tZyoqG4v7y