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Stan Van Gundy opens up about racial issues in the United States

By Braden Shackelford

Apr 24, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy looks down during the second quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers in game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 24, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy looks down during the second quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers in game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /
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Detroit Pistons’ coach and president Stan Van Gundy speaks his mind about all things. He’s spoken up about the all-star game and the issues in Charlotte and now he’s speaking his mind about one of the biggest conflicts in the United States right now–race issues.

Detroit Pistons‘ coach and president Stan Van Gundy is a man of the people. He was even voted as the best fit among NBA coaches to lead our nation as President.

That seems to be a pretty good vote considering Van Gundy’s latest comments.

Let me first start by saying I am the worst possible person to comment on what’s happening in our society today regarding this topic.

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I know what the media reports, but I would have to do extensive research before giving my thoughts on the issue.

I can however say that I have had one bad encounter with a police officer in Oklahoma that tried to get me to “try him” after pulling me over for correctly signalling into a turn lane in downtown.

Without getting into details, this officer exhibited dangerous characteristics and was trying to get me to do something wrong so that he could take me in.

For some perspective, I am a white male in his 20’s. I was leaving school, dressed in a button up shirt and slacks, and I have a car seat in the back of my car–I also don’t have a build that would appear to be physically threatening.

That day, it became evident to me that the requirements to be a police office need to be reevaluated, due to the unstable nature of this individual.

My point in sharing this story is while it appears that we have a group of people being negatively targeted by law enforcement, I’d like to extend the discussion further by saying there are issues in general with our hiring and background processes.

I hate that in 2016 that there are still race-related issues. I like to think that us millennials are the most accepting group in America both in terms of race and sexual orientation.

I hope that as we move forward that this topic becomes a non-issue. It is ridiculous that things like this are still going on.

Next: Stan Van Gundy for President of the United States?

As a parent, as a citizen of the United States, and as someone who absolutely despises injustice, I hope we see tremendous strides of improvement in the coming months and years.

As a Van Gundy supporter and a Detroit Pistons’ fan, I can’t be any more proud of the guy leading the Pistons’ organization for his stance against injustice.

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