It has only been a week since Doc Rivers was appointed the new head coach of the Phildelphia 76ers, but it didn’t take long for him to be quoted by a presidential candidate.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden quoted Rivers in a speech he gave in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on Tuesday.
Biden’s speech addressed the need for unity across the nation, including the topics of racial healing and equality.
Both subjects have been at the forefront of national concern and discussion.
Here is the quote from Biden’s speech:
“Doc Rivers, the basketball coach, was choking back tears when he said, ‘We’re the ones getting killed. We’re the ones getting shot. We’ve been hung. It’s amazing how we’re loving this country, when this country does not love us back.’ I think about that. I think about what it takes for a black person to love America. That is a deep love for this country, that has for far too long never been recognized.”
Of course, the moment referenced by Biden was from the NBA bubble in Orlando, when Rivers’ Clippers were one of many teams to boycott a playoff game after the Jacob Blake shooting in Wisconsin.
Players for the Sixers like Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, and Matisse Thybulle are among some of Doc Rivers’ players to have marched, or publically endorsed Biden and Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
The election in the United States is slated for Nov. 3.