In the past, professional athletes often faced immediate backlash for speaking out on racial issues. Some lost endorsement deals. Some received death threats. Some lost a role in their profession.
For Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young? Different story.
“I definitely lost a couple of followers for speaking my voice and speaking my opinion,” Young said in a conference call Wednesday with reporters. “That’s OK. That’s necessary.”
Young isn’t exactly losing any sleep that a few Twitter eggs unfollowed him. He has been focused on more substantial issues ever since unarmed black man George Floyd was killed by a white police officer on Memorial Day in Minneapolis.