DeMarcus Cousins is the latest athlete to weigh in on the ongoing national debate regarding police and their treatment of black men. Cousins is busy preparing with Team USA for the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio but took time to share a personal story with The Undefeated’s Marc Spears:
I remember it being after a high school game. Me and my friends are riding home, we hop out of the car at one of the friends’ house and [the cops] pulled up on us, pulled guns on us and everything. The only reason we were good was because we were wearing our school hoodies that read, LeFlore High School. ‘Sir, we are just leaving our high school game.’ ‘What’s your name?’ ‘I’m DeMarcus Cousins.’
‘You’re the young kid from … ’ ‘Yes, that’s me. We are just going home.’ I was scared for my life. We had rifles pulled on us.
This situation is not unique to Cousins. Many black men across America can relate and share similar stories. What’s interesting here is how the situation was resolved. Notice the response from the officer when he learns it is DeMarcus Cousins whom he and his fellow officers have approached. I wonder how much of a role that played in the situation not escalating? Cousins was a highly touted and well known athlete in Mobile, Alabama. Not to mention he is a large human being and easily identifiable. Why did the officer ask his name? Did he recognize him? What if the officer never asked his name? It’s not unlike cops to shoot first and ask questions after the fact.
Despite the encounter, Cousins is very open to both sides sitting down and discussing the issues and finding solutions. He participated in, Team USA teammate, Carmelo Anthony’s roundtable discussion between Los Angeles Police Department officials, community leaders and minority youth. Cousins also has a close relationship with a police officer from his hometown of Mobile, whom he calls “one of the good guys.” A relationship Cousins says helps him understand the difficulty on both sides.
I applaud athlete’s like DeMarcus for stepping up and using their platform to fight for such a critical cause. Hopefully more athletes, of all races, join together and meet with political leaders and influential members of society to enact change both systemic and systematic.