76ers' Tobias Harris Details Philly Protest for George Floyd

The past week has been hectic in America. After a now-former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, killed an unarmed black man, George Floyd, in broad daylight in front of a camera for the world to see, citizens have been outraged, rightfully so. And Philadelphia 76ers veteran forward Tobias Harris wants to take action.

Harris, who is outspoken on causes regarding race and social injustice in America, wanted to make his voice heard once again this week. So in a written piece for The Player's Tribune, the Sixers veteran details his upbringing and his past in regards to being black in America.

Also in the piece, Harris recalled the year of 2013 -- when he was a young veteran playing for the Orlando Magic. That was a year after Trayvon Martin was gunned down after being racially profiled not too far away from the city of Orlando. After the tragedy happened, many threw on hoodies and protested, in search of justice for Trayvon Martin in Orlando -- but Harris admits he wasn't one of them.

"There was a march downtown while I was there, in 2013," Harris wrote in regards to the Trayvon Martin protests. "By that time, it had gained a lot of steam on social media and whatnot with people wearing hoodies and everything. But I missed out on going to that march, and I've always regretted not being a part of that. It wasn't even that I didn't want to go. I was angry then, too. I'd had conversations about it with my teammates and friends. But if I'm being truthful, protesting just wasn't at the forefront of my mind at the time."

Due to Harris' regretfulness for missing out on marching for Trayvon, the 76ers' veteran wanted to make sure he didn't make the same mistake twice when it comes to George Floyd. Last Saturday, many in Philly gathered around the city to protest police brutality and racism in America -- and Tobias Harris made sure he was present this time around.

"I wasn’t gonna miss this opportunity to turn my knowledge into action," he explained. When I was out there at the march, it was something that I was so happy to be a part of because it was about unity. People were holding signs talking about police brutality, signs stating how black lives are important. How being quiet is just as bad as being on the wrong side. Signs everywhere, with messages matching everybody’s pain in the black community. And some of the people out there were white people, preaching out, “Black Lives Matter.” It was awesome to be around that interconnectedness and unity. It was really special. We walked for about an hour and a half, and it was just awesome to be in that moment."

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_