SALT LAKE CITY – On June 19, the day of the June 19 holiday celebrating the freedom of slaves at the end of the Civil War, Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell sent a tweet saying “Free –ish since 1865. “
Jazz head coach Quin Snyder said he was proud that Mitchell spoke about civil rights and many important issues. Many Jazz fans supported Mitchell, but others did not say they would no longer support him as a member of the Jazz.
Mitchell spoke Thursday for the first time since he made the post. He was not happy with the criticism. This is what he said:
“The same people who said what they said are the same people who came to celebrate and cheer, and I think that’s really where … I can’t lie to you, very angry. The last two or three years I gave it my all and then you see it and it’s hard to see that as an African American man, not just because what happens in Utah and I understand that it’s not just a Utah thing, I want people to understand that it’s not like it’s just Utah, it happens everywhere, it happens everywhere, but like I said, I talked about it and especially because I play here and live here and I want it to be known that I’m going to continue to use my platform, continue to use voice I have because I feel that is what is necessary. I hope this conversation opens up a lot of eyes, especially here in Utah because there is a certain stigma, there is no secret about Utah and obviously the comments did not help, but for us as athletes we want to make it known that we will not bear any of racism or what let it come with that. “
