Munich (dpa) - For Rickey Paulding, the sporting thing these days is to do as well as possible with the EWE Baskets Oldenburg in Munich at the championship tournament of the basketball Bundesliga.
After the initial defeat against ratiopharm Ulm, the Oldenburgers are already under pressure this Wednesday (4.30 p.m. / Magentasport) in the Lower Saxony duel with the BG Göttingen. But of course the 37-year-old American is also at home a lot with his thoughts, where, after the death of African-American George Floyd due to a brutal police operation, there have been demonstrations against discrimination against blacks and racism for days.
"Police violence has been something that affects black people for a long time. We all grew up with it. It was somehow suppressed and we almost took it as normal," said Paulding in an interview on "sportschau.de". The Detroit-born basketball player welcomes the protests in his home country. "I am optimistic. The old, existing system definitely needs to be changed," said Paulding.
Many athletes have now joined the protests all over the world. In the Bundesliga, several teams knelt on the weekend before the games to set an example against racism. "I always thought the gesture was correct. I think it's a peaceful way of protesting," said Paulding of the gesture that professional footballer Colin Kaepernick made famous. "We all see ourselves as Americans, regardless of skin color, but there is definitely a black and a white America."
Paulding interview
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