Doc Rivers has long been a significant voice on social and cultural issues among NBA head coaches, from the league’s bubble postseason in 2020 through to the 2024 presidential election.
The Milwaukee Bucks’ sideline leader is at it again, joining The Best People podcast this week for an interview with MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace to diagnose the Democratic Party’s loss to Donald Trump last fall.
In the interview, Rivers explained that Dems struggle because they have to tie down a bigger tent, whereas the GOP is mostly focused on “the white male.” In contrast, Rivers focused on why Black men are drifting right and how liberals can win them back.
“We are a party of being [inclusive], everybody is included, right?” Rivers said, recalling a conversation with U.S. Sen. Cory Booker. “One of the things [Republicans] do is they fall in line. They don’t care. If you listen to some of the things these guys said about Trump and then when you hear them speak now, all they do is praise, they are falling in line.”
“We have so many groups on our side, we don’t just have the white male. We have everybody, and to get everybody to agree on one thing is very difficult, but we’re going to have to start doing that if we want change.”
Rivers believes that despite a majority of Black men voting for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, the party has to drive up those margins even higher to beat Trump’s political coalition. The key to doing that, according to Rivers, is understanding Black men’s “hopelessness” when it comes to the economy and the carceral system.
“We complain about Black men. You know, the majority of Black men did vote for Kamala, as it turns out,” Rivers explained.
“It is just that it wasn’t a big majority. It wasn’t enough people. Why is that? There is a feeling of hopelessness in our community. I think a lot of Black men are saying now it does not matter, either side, we are not being helped, we are still being incarcerated. We still are struggling. So, there has got to be an answer. And we have to figure out how we can answer that question if we are looking at that part of it for sure.”
Rivers has three sons in their 20s and 30s and comes across dozens more young men each season as an NBA coach. Clearly, he has been listening to their concerns.
Many Democratic advisors have focused on young men as a problem area for the party. Whether it’s the effect of Trump’s appearances on “Manosphere” podcasts or something deeper, Rivers sees the party straying from what matters to young men. And in particular, when compounded with increased rates of incarceration and poverty in the Black community, Rivers believes the solutions are relatively simple. In his mind, the Democrats can win back Black men by addressing their basic needs and delivering for them.