Los Angeles Clippers’ Doc Rivers Focuses On Jacob Blake Shooting After Team Win

Despite the Los Angeles Clippers running away with a game five victory against the Dallas Mavericks, head coach Doc Rivers chose to focus on the recent shooting of Jacob Black in the press conference. The 154-111 win came secondary to Rivers’ postgame topic regarding recent social issues.

This comes after Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old black man, was shot multiple times by the police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The violent act of the law enforcer shooting the man seven times was caught on camera and has led to multiple major health concerns.

"It's going to take a miracle for Jacob Blake Jr. to ever walk again," Benjamin Crump told reporters by way of CNN.

The NBA has been one of the major sporting leagues that have advocated for the Black Lives Matters movement. Several stars and coaches have used their platform to call out the social injustices that have been happening across the world. For Rivers, he spoke up during his time with the media to express his disbelief in what has just happened.

“Just watching the Republican convention, and they’re spewing this fear,” Rivers said.

The Clippers were able to bounce back in the playoff series but it was the battle happening outside the bubble that highlighted the press conference.

“All you hear is Donald Trump and all of them talking about fear. We’re the ones getting killed. We’re the ones getting shot. We’re the ones who were denied to live in certain communities. We’ve been hung. We’ve been shot. And all you keep doing is hearing about fear,” Rivers continued.

The league has been vocal in expressing the need for equality and peace as emphasized by the custom jerseys of the players to show solidarity to the cause.

“It’s amazing why we keep loving this country and this country does not love us back,” Rivers concluded.

Several players have also stepped forward and spoken up regarding their thoughts on the recent news. While the playoff intensity remains at a high level, it will be interesting to see what the league will do in the next few weeks about this matter.