Getty Images Head coach Doc Rivers of the Philadelphia 76ers had strong words prior to the Sixers taking on the Washington Wizards
Reacting to the riots at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C., Philadephia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers delivered a powerful message before the Sixers faced the Washington Wizards Wednesday night.
Rivers expressed his frustration with the protesters that stormed the U.S. Capitol. While Congress had to evacuate the building, they invaded the chambers of both the U.S. Senate and House.
Capitol Police officers were reportedly injured, one woman was shot and later pronounced dead while members of Congress were rushed to an undisclosed location.
Doc Rivers: ‘Democracy Will Prevail. It always Does. It Shows A Lot, Though’
Meanwhile, in Philly, Doc was answering questions about D.C.’s home team – the Wizards – before he was eventually asked to comment on the protests in Washington during his pregame availability.
“What it’s not, and I keep hearing this, is this ‘attack on democracy’ and it’s not. Democracy will prevail,” Rivers said. “It always does. It shows a lot, though. When you saw the protests in the summer, you saw the riots, the police, the national guard, the army, and then you see this – you saw nothing. It basically proves a point about a privileged life. In a lot of ways.”
“Could you imagine today if those were all black people storming The Capitol and what would have happened?”
Powerful comments from Doc Rivers pregame, worth your time listening to the full thing. @FOX29philly
Rivers preferenced the following strong message as a common sentiment felt by players around the NBA, on Wednesday.
“I’ll say it because I don’t think a lot of people want to but can you imagine today if those were all black people storming the capital and what would have happened? So, that to me is a picture worth 1,000 words for all of us to see,” Rivers said, per Fox 29 Philadelphia. “And probably something for us to reckon with, again. No police dogs turned on people, no billy clubs hitting people; people being peacefully escorted out of the capital. So, it showed that you can basically disperse a crowd, I guess, would be the one thing, I guess. But, it’s a sad day in a lot of ways.
“(It’s) not good for our country. It’s more across the borders so that people see this but it’s part of who we are and it’s what we have to solve.”
Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal Scores Career-High 60 Points
By the end of the night, the 76ers beat the Wizards, 141-136. Joel Embiid’s 38 points led six Sixers players in double figures, including Seth Curry, who scored 28 points, and Tobias Harris and Shake Milton each finished with 19 points.
However, the story of the night was Bradley Beal’s incredible career-high performance.
Beal finished with 60 points on 20-of-35 attempts from the floor, 7-of-10 from behind the 3-point arc to go with his 7 rebounds and 5 assists.
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