San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama prefaced what he said about the recent shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good as part of federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis with an initial disclaimer.
‘PR has tried,’ he said, ‘but I’m not going to sit here and give some politically correct (answer).’
The 22-year-old from France then expressed dismay and disgust over the incidents, but admitted he didn’t feel comfortable offering his complete thoughts on the situation as the debate over the Trump administration’s immigration tactics rages nationally.
‘Every day I wake up and see the news and I’m horrified,’ Wembanyama told reporters on Tuesday, Jan. 27. ‘I think it’s crazy that some people make it seem like, or make it sound like, it’s acceptable, like the murder of civilians (is) acceptable. Every day I read the news and sometimes I’m asking very deep questions about my own life. But, you know, I’m conscious also that saying everything that’s on my mind will have a cost that’s too great for me right now. So I’d rather not go into too many details.’
When asked later if being a foreigner in the United States played into his hesitancy, Wembanyama answered, ‘For sure.’
Wembanyama is the latest NBA player to be asked to comment in the wake of Pretti’s death in Minneapolis on Saturday, Jan. 24, which led to the postponement of an NBA regular-season game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors. Stephen Curry and Warriors coach Steve Kerr, Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton, Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks forward and former Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns, as well as the National Basketball Players Association, have condemned the shooting publicly.
‘Following the news of yet another fatal shooting in Minneapolis, a city that has been on the forefront of the fight against injustices, NBA players can no longer remain silent,’ the NBPA said in a statement. ‘Now more than ever, we must defend the right to freedom of speech and stand in solidarity with the people in Minnesota protesting and risking their lives to demand justice.’
Wembanyama, in the midst of a breakthrough third season with the Spurs near the top of the Western Conference standings, followed the union’s lead.
‘It’s terrible. I know I’m a foreigner, and I live in this country, and I’m concerned,’ he said.