Raptors discuss following Kaepernick lead with their own protests

TORONTO — Athletes taking a knee during the U.S. national anthem in protest of the mistreatment of minorities, including African Americans, and police brutality in the United States has been in the headlines for weeks now, and with the new NBA season approaching, the Toronto Raptors find themselves in a unique position as the only Canadian-based team.

The topic of staging protests came up several times during the Raptors media day on Monday at the team’s practice facility, and head coach Dwane Casey said he’s already had discussions with players.

“I mentioned to the guys, you know, Canada’s a beautiful country and we don’t have those issues here. If they are, they’re very well hidden. I haven’t seen them in my time here,” he said. “It’s nothing against Canada whatsoever, so to disrespect the flag here is wasting your time and energy on something that’s not there.”

That said, Casey said he understood why players, in any sport, are choosing to protest.

“All I tell our guys is to be informed. Be informed, do it from the heart. Don’t do it for the sake of doing something or saying something. The young man from San Francisco is putting his money where his mouth is and it's something that’s going to be an ongoing conversation and that’s what it should be about, is bringing awareness to the situation and what’s going on.”

Since San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick first decided to kneel during the U.S. national anthem in protest against social injustice and police brutality in the U.S., the act has been repeated around the NFL, by U.S. soccer player Megan Rapinoe and in the WNBA, where the entire Indiana Fever team followed Kaepernick's lead.

DeMar DeRozan, who grew up in Los Angeles' Compton neighbourhood, said police killings aren’t something he’s spoken out about before, but he has been affected. Just a couple weeks ago, he said, a close friend of his died after being shot "17 times" by police.

He said he didn’t know exactly how his team might stage a protest, just that “I think we will and I will for sure.”

He added: “Everybody didn’t grow up in Compton so their point of view on something may be different from mine. Just more so having that dialogue and getting everybody together and understanding how can we help to be beneficial to the outside world.”

In anticipation of similar acts in the NBA, the league along with the players association sent a letter to players last week informing them that they are jointly working on a plan to handle protests surrounding the national anthem.

“The league and the Players Association, working together, have begun developing substantive ways for us to come together and take meaningful action,” the letter signed by both NBA’s commissioner Adam Silver and the NBA players association’s union chief Michele Roberts, reads.

“I think Adam Silver, the commissioner has done a great job in partnering up with the players association and addressing this. I think that one of the things with the NBA I’m really proud of is we get ahead of these things,” said Raptors president Masai Ujiri. “We all have the right to speak our minds and we’ve discussed with our players, I know coach has taken a good lead and talked to some of our players on some of the social matters and social issues and the need for some social change.”

Kyle Lowry agreed that this is a situation the Raptors will discuss as a team and come to a decision, but from his point of view, he said he wants to use his voice and his platform as a professional athlete to affect change.

“For me, I think using my voice would be the best way, using my voice, my platform to get that out there, to find a way to come to some type of peaceful solution and just to keep the conversation going, and try to help everything,” he said.

The NBA rule book stipulates that players are to "stand and lineup in a dignified posture" during the national anthem, as newest Raptor Jared Sullinger noted, adding that "to me, I think what Colin Kaepernick is doing speaks volumes about himself just because it shows that he wants peace."

"Martin Luther-King's 'I have a dream' speech ... I don’t think we really follow or understand or listen to the message that he’s really presenting just because of all the things that are happening in America today. I just wish that people would just wake up and understand that

"If you treat people the way you want to be treated a lot of these situations wouldn’t be happening. It’s a touchy subject, but at the same time it’s reality. With that being reality is some way, somehow we as a community have to come together and just stop whatever’s happening, and hopefully we’ll wake up and we’ll smell the coffee.”