2001 NBA No. 1 pick calls out Black celebrity 'gatekeepers' for 'shaming' voters to choose Kamala Harris
Kwame Brown says Harris' skin color won't pay Americans' bills
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former NBA player Kwame Brown, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2001 NBA Draft, shared a rant Monday afternoon in which he said he believes Black celebrity "gatekeepers" are "shaming" people into voting for Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States.
He also told viewers that Harris won’t be "paying nobody’s bills with your skin color."
Brown, who played 13 seasons in the NBA, went on for almost five minutes, calling out comedian and host Rickey Smiley, who recently called out Black social media users who didn’t support Harris.
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Kwame Brown of the Philadelphia 76ers at American Airlines Center Dec. 18, 2012, in Dallas, Texas. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
"Any time you have a man jump on TV, or jump on his radio show, and coerce or tell his followers to follow or unfollow Black people that don’t like Kamala … What if the Black people were voting for [independent presidential candidate] Cornel West? Oh, that don’t fit his narrative," Brown said.
Then, Brown began to point out how "inflation is at an all-time high," and he doesn’t believe Harris is going to fix that for Black Americans.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"When you talk about real situations, people are not concerned with somebody being Black or not," Brown said. "You’re not paying nobody’s bills with your skin color. Kamala Harris is not going to help get your bills paid just ‘cause she’s Black."
Brown went on to call the likes of Smiley, comedian D.L. Hughley and Steve Harvey the "go-along-get-along gang," implying they support Harris simply because she is Black.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He specifically called out Harvey, who recently said Harris was an "alley-oop" for voters on Election Day.
Kwame Brown of the 3 Headed Monsters is introduced during week seven of the BIG3 three-on-three basketball league at Rupp Arena Aug. 6, 2017, in Lexington, Ky. (Kevin C. Cox/BIG3/Getty Images)
"Whatchu mean alley-oop?" Brown asked. "You alley-ooping Americans to this dummy that’s not going to give them anything, but gave Asian [Americans] $26 billion? This isn’t basketball, Steve Harvey, this is politics. And politics decides people’s life. Politics decides where you’re going to live, how good you’re going to live in that area, the rules you’re going to live up under and the school system. Everything is decided by politics."
Harvey was with Harris at the 100 Black Men of America conference in Atlanta in June, where they discussed President Biden’s efforts to help Black Americans, among other topics.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Brown called himself the "wrong messenger" of the information he was giving his viewers on the video, referring to himself as a "bust," which he was called after he didn’t pan out the way everyone believed in the NBA.
Brown was drafted by the Washington Wizards first overall in 2001, but the high school star out of Glynn Academy in Georgia never got going with the Wizards in four seasons.
Kwame Brown, the NBA's No. 1 draft pick in 2001, says Kamala Harris' "skin color ain't gonna pay our groceries" during a long rant. (Getty Images)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He went on to play for the Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Bobcats, Golden State Warriors and Philadelphia 76ers.
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