Police and African-Americans: DeMarcus Cousins Sees Both Sides

by:Nick Roush•07/30/16•

@RoushKSR

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Getty Images[/caption] Black Lives Matter, Blue Lives Matter, All Lives Matter. The unending debate is arguably the most divisive topic in America today, creating Facebook ~~activists~~ comment warriors and causing protests in streets across the country. In 2016, topics are polarizing. Compromise is uncommon, yet DeMarcus Cousins understands there is such a thing as a "gray area." Led by Carmelo Anthony, members of Team USA are using their platform to speak out against racial injustice. Cousins is speaking his mind, but he understands there are two sides to every story. He shared this horrifying story with The Undefeated.

“I remember it being after a high school game. Me and my friends are riding home, we hop out of the car at one of the friends’ house and [the cops] pulled up on us, pulled guns on us and everything,” Cousins told The Undefeated. “The only reason we were good was because we were wearing our school hoodies that read, LeFlore High School. ‘Sir, we are just leaving our high school game.’ ‘What’s your name?’ ‘I’m DeMarcus Cousins.’

“ ‘You’re the young kid from … ’ ‘Yes, that’s me. We are just going home.’ I was scared for my life. We had rifles pulled on us.”

After experiencing something like that, it would be easy to demonize police, but Cousins knows better than that after befriending an officer from his hometown.

“I’ve learned about both sides,” Cousins said. “I respect him. I just had dinner with him the other day in Vegas. Me and his son grew up playing basketball together … I know there are good [cops]. I know that there are not good ones.

“He told me the truth, which I respect. The truth is there are good and bad. We know that. That’s the case in a lot of situations. It’s not just with [policemen]. It’s throughout the world.”

Cousins is using his platform to bring America's youth together with police to help them understand what he learned after befriending an officer. Statements like this one should do nothing but make you proud: