DETROIT — Detroit Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff joined a growing number of players and coaches around the NBA reacting to the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents in Minneapolis.
Pretti was protesting President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota before being shot and killed on Saturday, Jan. 24. This comes after Renee Good was killed by an immigration officer in Minneapolis on Jan. 7.
Bickerstaff spent many formative years in Minneapolis first at the University of Minnesota as a player and then as a broadcaster and eventually assistant coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
He spoke on the recent turmoil in the area following the Pistons’ game against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.
“I have a bunch of friends that still live there and they talk about that it doesn’t feel real,” Bickerstaff said. “People are highly emotional. The answers, I think, are kind of cloudy, the reasons. It’s disappointing to see it get to the point that it’s at.
“The purpose of all of this stuff that we do and that we’re all in is humanity and to treat each other a certain way. And when people cross that line, no matter who they are, they should be held to the same standard as everybody else.
“We’ll see everything that comes out of it. But, my heart goes out to people who are losing family members recklessly. And to me, that’s what those things appear to be.”
In the wake of the shooting, NBA players like Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton and former Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns have taken to social media to address the ongoing situation.
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr — whose team had a matchup against the Timberwolves in Minnesota postponed from Saturday amid massive protests — spoke out, as well.
The National Basketball Players Association — the players’ union — released a statement on Sunday standing “in solidarity with the people in Minnesota protesting and risking their lives to demand justice.”
Bickerstaff is in his second season coaching the Pistons and recently took over as president of the National Basketball Coaches Association.