San Miguel Beerman guard Chris Ross opens up about his experience with racism in the United States
Photo courtesy of Inquirer Sports
Several Filipino-American PBA players documented themselves holding “could’ve been me” signs in an online protest for George Floyd. One of them was San Miguel Beerman guard Chris Ross who also opened up about his experience with racism in the United states.
“Personally, I’ve had two policemen point their guns at me at a traffic stop, and my life flashed before my eyes,” said Ross in an interview with CNN Philippines. “Lucky, I still have life and a platform to speak on. Others aren’t so lucky.”
Ross, who was drafted by Air21 Express in 2009, acknowledged that he is fortunate to be able to voice his experience with the police. In the same interview, Ross pointed out that racism has been an ongoing issue that some people, including a close friend of his, don’t get to speak up about.
“Personally, I’ve had two policemen point their guns at me at a traffic stop, and my life flashed before my eyes,” said Chris Ross in an interview. “Lucky, I still have life and a platform to speak on. Others aren’t so lucky”
“It happens so often, but only certain people get hashtags, only certain people get out in international media. Some of them don’t get out of their small town or city or state.” says Ross. “[To protest] was a no-brainer for me. Growing up in the States and being a person of color, I’ve been through it personally. It really hits close to home.”
In another article by ESPN, Rain or Shine and Gilas Pilipinas player Gabe Norwood posted a photo of PBA Fil-Am players getting together via Zoom to discuss the incident and their online protest. Among those who joined were Ross, CJ Perez, Joe Devance, Harvey Carey III, Bobby Ray Parks Jr, Chris Newsome, Marcio Lassiter, Mo Tautuaa, Trevis Jackson, Kelly Nabong, Rashawn McCarthy, and Roosevelt Adams.