Kevin Durant and Steve Stoute were the guests on the new episode of The Boardroom: Out of Office, the new podcast from Thirty-Five Ventures and Cadence13.
During the episode, the duo and Rich Kleiman cover the Black Lives Matter movement and the responsibilities of athletes in communities. While he isn’t currently in the bubble, Kevin Durant is not blind to the issues that are going on and the responsibility of athletes to speak up.
“For one, I think we continue to… ’cause we do a lot in our neighborhoods, we do a lot in the communities already, and for us using our platforms to speak about it is definitely cool, it’s definitely good to raise awareness,” Durant said. “But at this point, I’m ready to see more action, you know? But I think… I think a lot of players are invested in these communities that they play in, that they grew up in, especially in the grass roots in the black community.
“So a lot more guys, I think we got more allies now than anything, and I think that’s the great part about it is, that the awareness, you know, everybody’s consciousness has been raised since the quarantine. But on top of that, more people are starting to listen to each other about these social issues.”
He would also go on to detail that he understands the impact of the markets that players play in.
“We have a huge impact in these cities we play in but, by just playing on TV, by just being in the NBA,” Durant added. “But once we really get down to the grass roots of these neighborhoods we’ve been at, and really helping these people… Really getting into the field of helping these people, I think we can make more change. But for… I think a lot of athletes and entertainers have definitely been giving back, especially with these foundations that they’ve been, you know, putting together.”
You can hear the whole podcast, including the trio’s thoughts on Luka Doncic and more here.
