Steph Curry shows support for protesters in Minneapolis: “In negative 10 degree weather, it was beautiful to see that turnout”

Donald Trump’s United States took another harrowing step away from democracy and towards what can only be called a fascist police state with the killing of yet another law-abiding human being merely exercising his rights as a citizen of the country.

The 37-year-old intensive care nurse Alex Pretti was shot multiple times by an border patrol agent as he struggled in the grasp of another; Pretti was attending a protest against the killing of Renee Good, a mother of small children who was shot in the face recently by an Immigration and Customs officer.

The victim was filming the officers as part of the protest when he was approached, dragged around, and eventually shot dead.

The Department of Homeland Security said the man was shot after he “approached” Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun. All video footage of the incident appears to show this is not the case.

“He cared about people deeply and he was very upset with what was happening in Minneapolis and throughout the United States with ICE, as millions of other people are upset,” Michael Pretti, Alex’s father, told AP. “He thought it was terrible, you know, kidnapping children, just grabbing people off the street. He cared about those people, and he knew it was wrong, so he did participate in protests.”

“It was amazing to watch the turnout, and peaceful protests, the unified voice”

And the world of sport has not, for the most part, turned a blind eye to this abhorrent killing. Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry spoke about the events that unfolded in Minneapolis. His team were due to play against the Minnesota Timberwolves that Saturday, but the game was postponed in the hours following the killing.

“You feel like that would kind of turn the tide to a more positive direction, and then, you wake up in the morning, and you see what happened. So, obviously, there was no need and no place to have a game (Saturday)," he said. And it spilled it over a little bit to the atmosphere today, as it should.”

Curry admitted that the atmosphere was “definitely” sombre, adding that “I know there’s a lot of heavy hearts. A lot of things — especially (for) this Minneapolis community (Saturday) — was rough. It’s been rough. … You can kind of feel it when we got here two days ago. The protests that were going on downtown, it was amazing to watch the turnout, and peaceful protests, the unified voice that was here.

“There’s a lot of change that needs to happen... Hopefully, the community comes together”

“There’s a lot of change that needs to happen, and when you’re here, you feel it. I was glued to the TV (Saturday) when we weren’t playing, just watching the coverage and understanding what was going on, and try to really get knowledgeable about it.

"Hopefully, the community kind of comes together, and the right decisions are made so that there’s more of a peaceful environment here.”

“It was like three straight hours,” Curry said. “In negative 10-degree weather. It was beautiful to see that turnout. That speaks to how important people felt to have their voice heard. In those elements and whatever streets outside our hotel, they were out, and it was amazing to watch.”

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