Flint native Kyle Kuzma discusses the water crisis in his hometown

Kyle Kuzma recently sat down with Danny Green to chat about everything from the Anthony Davis saga to hostile fan interactions, but there was one particular topic that the Lakers star holds near and dear to his heart.

Born and raised in Flint, Michigan, Kuzma is doing everything he can to raise awareness about the water crisis that has haunted this city since 2014.

“I think the biggest thing for me is just spreading awareness, that’s the biggest thing,” Kuzma said on the latest episode of ‘Inside the Green Room’. “For me, I’m fresh in the game, there’s only so much that I can do right now. I want to do so much more in the future, you know, when I have my foundation set up. Little things like that.

“But it’s really crazy. Flint hasn’t had clean water since 2014, and it’s supposedly supposed to get fixed in 2020. But to do that you have to rip out every single pipe that’s underneath the ground to, you know, schools or households. And it’s crazy.”

While Kuzma was playing with the University of Utah when the crisis began, the former Ute got to experience the crisis firsthand when he would visit his family in his hometown.

“You’ve got lead, and you can get rashes from it. I remember going home in college maybe about two or three years ago and, you know, I’m not used to the water but my family, they’re accustomed to doing everything. So I hop in the shower, and I’m only home for two days but I start getting a random rash on my skin.

“And it’s just really crazy, that we’ve got a city in our country on our soil that’s having these problems, but we go out and try to help third world countries while we have a city dying on our own soil. It’s crazy.”

But Kuzma is working hard to do more than simply raise awareness. The Lakers star will be hosting a camp in New York City, with a big chunk of the proceeds going to his foundation. And while he’s honoured to step up for his hometown, Kuzma also realizes the importance of giving back.

“Just give back, give back to the game,” he said in the video above. “Obviously a lot of the proceeds are going back to Flint, but the main thing is the game of basketball. I always believed that when you make it somewhere, send the elevator down, you know? Let younger generations touch, feel, interact with an NBA player.

“I know for a lot of kids they may never even go to an NBA game, so for a kid to say ‘What’s up Kuz!’ or come up and you teach them something. Just being that presence, that inspires people.”

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