Sixers coach Doc Rivers speaks out against rise of violence and discrimination toward Asian Americans

Doc Rivers is much more than a future Hall of Fame basketball coach.

The 76ers’ coach is outspoken in regards to social issues and racial injustice. On Wednesday, the coach took a moment to talk about the rise of violence and discrimination against Asian Americans during the coronavirus pandemic.

A large group of Asian-American leaders and activists are scheduled to testify Thursday before a House panel on civil rights and the skyrocketing rise in discrimination and violence against their communities. It comes two days after eight people, including six Asian women, were killed in a shooting spree at three spas around Atlanta.

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Rivers chimed in when a reporter questioned if violence and discrimination against Asian Americans has been publicilized as much as other racially charged incidents.

“Well, they should,” Rivers said. “It’s been going on for a while. And when you have a negative narrative about a certain race, it doesn’t matter, a minoirity in this country, it seems like bad things happen. It’s sad what’s going on. It really is.”

Rivers said he doesn’t know if the shooting in Atlanta was motivated by race or not.

“But that’s a coincidence, and it’s very similar,” said Rivers, a Black man. “It’s the same coincidences we have. So we just have to figure it out in this country that we can’t target people because of the color of their skin or their religious belief.

“We just have to figure it out.”

Former Sixers center Shawn Bradley suffered a spinal-cord injury that led to his being paralyzed, the Dallas Mavericks announced in a statement on Bradley’s behalf.

Bradley was struck from behind by an automobile while riding his bike a block away from his home in Utah on Jan. 20. He had to undergo neck fusion surgery and was hospitalized for the past eight weeks. Bradley is undergoing rehabilitation.

The Sixers selected him with the second pick in the 1993 NBA draft after he spent two years on a Mormon mission following his freshman year at Brigham Young University. The 7-foot-6 center averaged 9.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.2 blocks in 143 games with the Sixers before being traded to the New Jersey Nets on Nov. 30, 1995. The Nets traded him to the Mavs on Feb. 17, 1997.

“Really saddened by it,” Rivers said of the news. “You know, he still has life, which we have to understand that and send as much positivity to him and his family as we can. He’s a brethren. I know Shawn. I didn’t know him well. So when I heard the news, I was very sad by it. But I was very happy that he’s alive, and I heard that he’s in positive spirits. So just send him positive energy.”