Kyle Kuzma Has Pointed Words For Police Officers Who Continue To Use Unreasonable Force
Kyle Kuzma spoke out against police brutality, tweeting Sunday strong words in the wake of yet another killing of a black man by a white police officer.
Rayshard Brooks, a 27-year-old black man, was killed by a white police officer Friday in Atlanta.
Kuzma wrote: “The amazing thing about this is.. you would think if you’re law enforcement in this time period, you would be cautious about killing a black man, but this continuing to happen during this time shows you that they don’t give a damn about you and they want you to see and know it.”
Brooks fell asleep in his car at a Wendy’s drive-through. After complying with officers for much of the interaction, Brooks appeared to take an officer’s taser and ran away. He was shot in the back twice. Officer Garrett Rolfe was fired and another officer, Devin Bronsan, was placed on administrative duty. A medical examiner in Atlanta declared Brooks' death a homicide.
Kuzma believes the officers didn’t have to shoot Brooks, even though Brooks grabbed the taser.
He tweeted: “And I get it he ran away with a taser. But think about it.... as a human if you peaceful (sic) explain what you are doing and why you did, even go as far as saying I will walk home and I just want to see my daughter.... you’re in survival mode as a human after that point. 🤷🏽♂️“
Protests erupted after Brooks' death and the Wendy’s where he was killed was burned down on Saturday. Brooks' death came weeks after George Floyd was murdered by a white police officer in Minneapolis on May 25.
Kuzma, LeBron James, Alex Caruso and other Lakers have spoken out against police brutality and are using their platforms to denounce racism.
Kuzma recently wrote an article for the The Players’ Tribune in which he discussed white privilege and how athletes won’t just stick to sports.
“The best analogy I’ve heard that explains white privilege is that it’s like an invisible backpack that every white person wears,” Kuzma wrote. “If you’re white and you’re ever in a situation where you might need help, you can take that backpack off, open it up, and pull out all sorts of (expletive).
“Get Out of Jail Free Card. Job opportunities. Health benefits. Housing loans. Don’t get me wrong. Black people can get those things, too, but it’s a lot harder.”
Kuzma, who has nearly one million followers on Twitter, is using his social media platform to help many causes. He has long been an advocate for clean drinking water in his hometown of Flint, Michigan.
Kuzma retweeted a photo of the words “Black Lives Matter’ written on a street in downtown Flint on Tuesday and wrote, “You want to talk about systemic racism? Flint, Michigan hasn’t had clean water since 2014. If Flint was a foreign country or a place of economic stability it would of (sic) been fixed ASAP.”
