On Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the day Texas slaves were freed in 1865, Lakers president Jeanie Buss took to Instagram to share a racist letter she received, using it as an opportunity to tell while that “We all must do better” when it comes to racism.
Buss’s post reinforces that, while the letter is abusive, she will not ignore it as she has been told to ignore hateful comments in the past. Instead, she believes that white people need to come to terms with racism and do more to help combat it:
On this day, Juneteenth, I ask my white friends to join together, acknowledge the racism that exists in our country and around the world, and pledge to stop ignoring it. We all must do better.
The letter, which was written by a man named “Joe” who claims to be a huge Lakers fan, uses both racist and misogynistic language, the former of which Buss redacted before posting it. The letter also tells Buss to “go to hell and join [expletive] Kobe Bryant,” who died in a helicopter crash in January.
Lakers star LeBron James voiced his support of Buss’s decision to share the letter on his own Instagram, posting a story expressing his love for her while also throwing a middle finger emoji at the “Joe” in the letter.
The Lakers had given all of their players Friday off from training for the restarted NBA season, in order to allow them to observe Juneteenth however they saw fit.
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