MILWAUKEE — Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said the organization would “continue to fight for better” in the aftermath of a jury’s verdict Friday that Kyle Rittenhouse, who fatally shot two men and wounded another during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year, was acquitted of all charges.
The Bucks performed a wildcat strike during the NBA’s playoff bubble in Orlando, Florida, days after a white police officer shot Jacob Blake, a Black man, in August 2020 and one day after Rittenhouse shot three people in the protests over police violence that followed.
The Bucks met as a team ahead of Friday’s 96-89 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, and while Milwaukee forward Khris Middleton didn’t want to go into details about the team’s conversation, he said they never discussed not taking the court Friday.
“We talked about [the verdict] a little bit as a team,” Middleton said after Friday’s game. “Speaking for myself, it was definitely disappointing, but at the same time, it really wasn’t surprising about the verdict. I watched [the trial] a little bit and was able to keep up with it, but it’s something that I think we’ve all seen over and over again.”
Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant appeared to share Middleton’s opinion, tweeting, “not surprised at all.” Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet also said he wasn’t surprised but added that he didn’t want Friday’s verdict to be discouraging either.
“I think that we’ve got to continue to use the tools that we have at our disposal,” VanVleet said. “I think that things are changing and they will continue to change, but we can’t lose sight, we can’t lose focus, we can’t lose hope.”
Rittenhouse had been charged with homicide, attempted homicide and reckless endangering after killing Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and wounding Gaige Grosskreutz, now 28, with an AR-style semi-automatic rifle during a tumultuous night of protests.
Rittenhouse — who is white, as were those he shot — pleaded self-defense. He could have…
Source : espn
