Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo said Saturday he’ll remember for the rest of his life how he felt after talking to the family of Jacob Blake, who was shot seven times by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Sunday.
News of the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Sunday didn’t reach reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo until days later, with the Milwaukee Bucks star on a social media blackout for the NBA postseason. Once he became informed that Blake, who is Black, was shot seven times by police, Antetokounmpo was in full support of his teammates choosing not to play Wednesday in protest of the situation — a game that was postponed to Saturday. Bucks players Sterling Brown and George Hill were the first to step up, then he followed, as did the rest of organization. From the NBA bubble, the team was able to get in contact with Blake’s family in less than an hour, with Antetokounmpo calling the shooting «unacceptable.» «One thing that moved me as a human being was that, if you really want to accomplish something and get something done, you can. We were able to get his family’s number within like 30 minutes,» Antetokounmpo recalled. «And, we came together as a team, went in a circle, talked to his dad and his dad was tearing up telling us how powerful what we did on that day was for him and his family, and that’s bigger than basketball to me. «That’s bigger than basketball,» he added. «Obviously, it’s gonna be games that you come in and score 30,35,50 or whatever the case might be, but that you’re going to remember. The way we felt, we’re going to remember the way we felt for the rest of our lives.» The recent events took the native of Greece back to his rookie season in 2013-14, when veteran teammate Caron Butler taught him a valuable lesson about being Black in America.
