SALT LAKE CITY — Kyle Kuzma is using his platform as a professional basketball player to promote some things he cares deeply about — educating people about racism, ending what he views as systemic oppression, helping people vote and standing up for equality.
The former University of Utah basketball standout, who currently plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, has been vocal on social media about the Black Lives Matter movement and continued to voice his strong opinions on those matters in an essay for The Players’ Tribune.
As the title suggests, Kuzma “ain’t no sticking to sports.” The proud biracial man from Flint, Michigan — his mom is white and his dad is black — believes society needs to come together and stay there.
“At the end of the day, we all gotta come together as people,” wrote Kuzma, who detailed multiple ways he’s personally felt racism throughout his life. “But I know that will never happen until white people actually understand what African Americans have gone through in the past, still go through in the present and will probably continue to go through in the future.”
Kuzma insists the change that so many people are searching and marching for won’t happen until white America truly understands the depth of the racial problem and what he believes is ingrained, systemic oppression against black people. It goes further than just saying you’re not racist, he pointed out.
“That’s why white people have to realize, it’s not just about your ‘heart’ or your individual mindset. Like how some people say, ‘I don’t have a racist bone in my body,’” Kuzma wrote. “Well, the system does, and you can’t see it because it benefits you.”
Kuzma used an analogy about an invisible backpack to explain white privilege. He said every white person wears that backpack, and if they’re ever in need of help they can open it up and use what’s inside to their benefit — from a “Get Out of Jail Free” card to job opportunities, health benefits and housing loans. Those things are “a lot harder” for black people to obtain, he believes.
Kuzma also delved into the history of racial inequality in the country — from slavery to the war on drugs in the 1970s and ’80s — and explained the magnitude of the centuries-old issue.
In an effort to make lasting change, Kuzma is going to offer services that will help people vote in change on election day. Details are forthcoming about his voting campaign.
And he emphasized the importance of education.
“You know, back when this all started, during slavery, the one thing that the white man feared was a black man that had a mind of his own. Someone who could READ. Someone who could WRITE. Someone who could THINK for themselves. Someone who could VOTE,” Kuzma wrote.
“You know why? Because that person could stand up!! And that’s what I’m doing and going to continue to do until all people are free.”