Rasheed Wallace is Philly through and through — but the former Pistons star has love for, and hasn’t forgotten about Detroit and the state of Michigan since retiring.
The always passionate Wallace has worked to bring clean water to Flint, Michigan during the crisis, and during his passionate plea — insisted the water hasn’t been fixed.
Well, I’ve been visiting Flint for the past year, so let me tell you the truth.
Some of the folks in Flint can’t take showers because their water is still poisoned with lead.
They have to boil water, pour it into the sink and then wash in it.
Yeah, a grown-a*s man has to take a bird bath. That sh*t ain’t right. It’s still going on today.
And it’s not going away anytime soon.
Wallace went on to say that it doesn’t take a water expert to declare that things still aren’t right with the water system in Flint.
I keep going back to Flint for one reason: the people. They still have hope. They just need to know that there are other people who still care about them.
They supported me when I was playing with the Pistons. There were a lot of people from Flint who maybe couldn’t really afford a ticket to a game, but they bought one anyway, or came down for the parade when we won the title. Handing out water is the very least I can do. I didn’t partner with any organization or agency. I just went on my own because that was the right thing to do.
Every time I go, I’m amazed by the people, but I’m sickened by the lack of help.
Don’t believe the hype that you hear about the water being fixed. That water’s not fixed. This sh*t ain’t over. Just because it isn’t being talked about doesn’t mean it’s over. Light still needs to be shone on this.
Wallace visited Flint over the summer with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols and former NBA player Stephen Jackson to personally deliver water to the community. There will be more trips as well, and to read the full letter, check here:
