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I think my teammates and I all felt it was a step in the right direction. Before the meeting ended, I joined the teamвЂ™s demand for a swift response and a promise from the Jazz organization that it would address the concerns we had. It was about what it means just to exist right now - as a person of color in a mostly white space. This wasnвЂ™t only about Russ and some heckler. And one big thing that got brought up a lot in the meeting was how incidents like this - they werenвЂ™t only about the people directly involved. This wasnвЂ™t the first time theyвЂ™d taken part in conversations about race in their NBA careers, and it wasnвЂ™t the first time theyвЂ™d had to address the hateful actions of others. But there was another emotion in the room that day, one that was harder to put a finger on. I looked over at him, and remembered his night in NYC. One teammate said the night felt like being вЂњin a zoo.вЂќ One of the guys in the meeting was Thabo - heвЂ™s my teammate in Utah now. One teammate talked about how his mom had called him right after the game, concerned for his safety in SLC. In a closed-door meeting with the president of the Jazz the next day, my teammates shared stories of similar experiences theyвЂ™d had - of feeling degraded in ways that went beyond acceptable heckling. The incident struck a nerve with our team. After the game, heвЂ™d said he felt the comments were racially charged. What actually happened was that a fan had said some really ugly things at close range to Russ.

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Of course, the full story came out later that night. I told him I hadnвЂ™t seen it - and added something like, But you know Russ. Then, after the game, one of our reporters asked me for my response to what had gone down between Russ and the fan.

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I didnвЂ™t actually see or hear what happened, and if you were following on TV or on Twitter, maybe you had a similar initial viewing of it. Maybe you saw it: We were playing against the Thunder, and Russell Westbrook and a fan in the crowd exchanged words during the game. So why did I feel like IвЂ™d let my friend down? Why did I feel like IвЂ™d let myself down?ДЄ few weeks ago, something happened at a Jazz home game that brought back many of those old questions. I mean, I hadnвЂ™t been involved in the incident. But I still couldnвЂ™t shake my discomfort. Pretty soon, another NBA season began - and we were back on the court again. Thabo had surgery and went through rehab. He settled with the city over the NYPDвЂ™s use of force against him. A few months later, a jury found Thabo not guilty on all charges. It was pure reflex - the first thing to pop into my head.

ItвЂ™s not like it was a conscious thought. I thought, Well, if IвЂ™d been in ThaboвЂ™s shoes, out at a club late at night, the police wouldnвЂ™t have arrested me. Before I knew the full story, and before IвЂ™d even had the chance to talk to ThaboвЂ¦.

Not, HowвЂ™s he doing? Not, What happened during the arrest? Not, Something seems off with this story. Anyway - on the morning I found out that Thabo had been arrested, want to know what my first thought was? About my friend and teammate? My first thought was: What was Thabo doing out at a club on a back-to-back? Yeah. We were cool, you know? We had each otherвЂ™s backs. It didnвЂ™t take long for me to figure out that Thabo was one of the most interesting people IвЂ™d ever been around. They lived together in South Africa before Thabo was born, then left because of apartheid. He spoke three languages! ThaboвЂ™s mother was from Switzerland, and his father was from South Africa.

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And itвЂ™s easy to see why: Before we were teammates in Atlanta, the guy had played professional ball in France, Turkey and Italy. Politics, religion, culture, you name it - Thabo brought a perspective that wasnвЂ™t typical of an NBA player. He was my go-to teammate to talk with about stuff beyond the basketball world. WeвЂ™d become legitimate friends that year in our downtime. Before I tell the rest of this story, let me just say real quick - Thabo wasnвЂ™t some random teammate of mine, or some guy in the league who I knew a little bit.

Details were still hazy, but guys were saying, Thabo hurt his leg? During an arrest ? Wait - he spent the night in jail?! Everyone was pretty upset and confused. When I woke up the next morning, our team group text was going nuts. Thabo and I were teammates on the Hawks, and weвЂ™d flown into New York late after a game in Atlanta. I still remember my reaction when I first heard what happened to Thabo. YouвЂ™d think youвЂ™d know there was more to the story. When they arrest him on a New York street, throw him in jail for the night, and leave him with a season-ending injury, youвЂ™d think it would sink in. When the police break your teammateвЂ™s leg, youвЂ™d think it would wake you up a little.

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