There was a time when Dwight Howard considered not joining the Lakers in the NBA bubble. He did not want to leave his family after sharing so much important time in the past few months. He did not want to leave for a time when he felt it was important to talk about social issues.
So on Saturday afternoon, when he spoke to reporters for the first time since he entered the NBA campus in Florida, Howard rebuked those who felt they had lost focus and those who had turned their attention to him for trivial reasons. .
“Breonna Taylor, the people who committed the egregious incident against her, are still free,” said Howard. “They are out there living their best life. Rather than worrying about whether I have my mask on or not, that’s something we should discuss. Why haven’t these people been brought in? Why have they not been accused of anything or even arrested for what they have done?
“Instead of the themes being about who doesn’t wear a mask in the bubble, who’s at the DJ party, who’s not, all of these things seem entertaining. But we will not forget what is happening in our world. Those cops, one of the cops just posted a picture of himself on the beach. How can you be aware? You just killed someone. And you are on the beach with women. You killed a woman. And you’re on the beach with more women having a good time. You know, that’s not cool. There are black and white mourning families who have been killed by police. Killed for different things. The topic of discussion is who does not have a mask and the people who make fun of it. Let’s not forget why we are here.
Taylor, a black woman, was killed in March when Louisville, Kentucky police executed a no-hit order to enter her home while she was sleeping and shot her eight times in an exchange of fire with her boyfriend. None of the officers has been charged. Howard was not the first player to participate in the NBA restart to invoke his name. Denver forward Jerami Grant, Portland guard Damian Lillard, Miami forward Solomon Hill and Indiana guard Malcolm Brogdon have also done so.
Howard came under scrutiny this week after he said on Instagram that he had been reported on the NBA’s anonymous hotline to catch violators of the rules for not wearing a mask. Howard is rarely shown wearing a mask during his broadcasts. In one, someone reminds you that the rules state that you must wear a mask when you are indoors and not in practice or in your room.
“The reaction is that we should all wear masks in and around the hotel lobby, and in areas where we are asked to wear a mask, we should wear a mask,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “And he’s doing it now.”
On Saturday, Howard said he thought reporting it was pointless.
“Everybody is doing a big problem,” said Howard. “But I feel like we are in the safest place in Orlando. We do tests every day. So we are only close to each other. We do tests every day. We cannot practice with masks. Personally, I don’t see the risk of us getting it during the time period we’re here. “
Howard’s concern about joining the NBA restart was never about safety. Part of this was troubling that the restart would slow down the momentum for social change.
He has decided to use the rest of his salary to benefit Breathe Again, a charity that he is forming. They are working on a project to teach financial literacy to urban children and their parents in Atlanta.
Howard told a story about two children, one of whom was killed while trying to make money by selling water and Gatorade. He attributed the violence to financial insecurity.
“Now these precious children trying to do something positive have been taken from them,” said Howard. “And not understanding its power but not understanding how to save money. So I want to take it on myself and the rest of the kids in the community, and we want to guide these kids in the right direction. “
