Kyle Korver unplugged: On Bucks' walkout, TNT's 'Arena' and being white ally for racial justice

 MARK MEDINA | USA TODAY | 19 minutes ago

   

SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports' Jeff Zillgitt examines the latest example of the NBA being a league that encourages its players and coaches to speak up and use their platform, this time in the aftermath of the riots at the Capitol building.

SPORTSPULSE, USA TODAY

As a white man, former NBA sharpshooter Kyle Korver does not have the same life experiences as his former Black teammates and coaches. In recent years, though, Korver has tried to become an advocate for racial justice causes.

So while mulling whether he will pursue extending his 17-year NBA career, Korver has committed toward making regular appearances on TNT's "The Arena," an NBA show that includes host Cari Champion and various guests talking in depth about social justice topics. After debuting last summer, "The Arena" will air on Thursday this month before TNT's NBA games. 

Korver talked to USA TODAY Sports about his new role, being part of the Milwaukee Bucks' walkout last summer to protest Jacob Blake's shooting and his Players Tribune article that detailed his efforts with recognizing his white privilege and promoting racial justice causes. 

The interview below has been edited for clarity and brevity. 

Kyle Korver said he's always been willing to offer a different perspective on race and equality issues.

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How did the gig with "The Arena" come to be?

Korver: "My neighbor from across the street had a small little social distanced gathering with a few couples [in Atlanta]. Craig [Barry], (Turner Sports' EVP  chief content officer) asked if I’d be interested. It was really kind of a random setup. This is a space that I’ve tried to be thoughtful and step into as well as I can. I’ve never really thought that I would do television.  But I certainly am open to being helpful in whatever ways that I can. Before you know it, I was showing up to the office at TNT trying to do my first live television show with "Race in America" from a white man’s perspective. Nothing like jumping full speed in.

How have you tried to use your platform as a white person?

Korver: "I believe as a white man in America, I certainly have a role in these conversations. I’ve been careful with how you speak, where you speak and what you say. The first thing you try to do is do a lot of listening and you try to amplify other voices and understand people that are marginalized in all these different spaces. At some point, you need to step up and speak out. I think the last few years it’s been a journey of me trying to find my voice and figure out the things that are helpful for me to say.

"Honestly, I feel like most of the important conversations I’m going to have are with other white people. How do you do that? That’s something you’re always wrestling with and the public is trying to figure out what that best looks like and sounds like. I try to speak from someone that understands I have privilege. I have a lot to learn and unlearn. I’m not an expert. But I’m someone who cares a great deal. I try to approach that kind of messaging forward. I don’t think it’s helpful as a white man to say, 'I’ve been with the movement and this is what needs to happen.' One of the most important things we can do is say, ‘Hey, this is where even if I’ve been in diverse communities and have been in the NBA for a lot of years, I still have plenty of blind spots.’ No matter where you’re at on this journey as a white man, there’s so much for me to learn and so much that I don’t understand and cannot see right now. But it’s important to just say that. At the same time, try to step into a lot of the stages where Black people are just tired of answering certain questions. They shouldn’t have to keep answering the same questions. We need to step in front of them and try to take a lot of that on.