Painter Tweets About Recent Racial Events, Pleads to Seek 'Remedy Together'
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Current events erupting across the country sent Purdue coach Matt Painter to Twitter on Saturday, speaking out strongly and saying he is "angered and saddened" by what's gone on in Minnesota, and now around the country.
George Floyd, a black man, died while in the custody of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was seen kneeling on Floyd's neck until he could no longer breathe. He died soon thereafter, and Minneapolis has seen riots for the past three nights, and similar riots have happened around the country, including several cities and towns in Indiana.
Painter, who played at Purdue in the early 1990s and has coached there for more than 15 years, felt obligated to speak up in his role as Purdue's head coach.
"Events of the past few days and weeks have again shown us that we have a lot of work to do when it comes to race and racism in this country.
"Personally, I am angered and saddened by these events. As the head coach of a college basketball program, i believe it's part of my job to help prepare our players to be positive forces in the world once they leave Purdue. I believe it's important that we all work to see the world through the eyes of others and truly hear and learn from each other as we work to create a country where everyone is treated equally. We will continue to do our very best to learn from each other and to lead, teach and educate all members of our current team and the Purdue Basketball Family.
"I will never know what it is like to move through the world as a black person in America, and I can't pretend to know what the answers are. What I do know is that I want to be part of the solution, and I believe that the adversity and prejudice that black people in America face is something that we all must address and seek to remedy — together.''
— Purdue’s Matt Painter (@CoachPainter) May 30, 2020
Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist who's worked at some America's finest newspapers, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Indianapolis Star. He also owns the book publishing company, Hilltop30 Publishing Group, and he has written four books and published 16 others.