JR Smith Beat Down

6.1.20

@teamswish

As protesting continues to go down in major cities across the United States, many celebrity athletes and musicians have been seen walking amongst these crowds. J. Cole, Swae Lee, Ariana Grande, are just a few artists. Jaylen Brown, from the Boston Celtics, apparently drove fifteen hours all the way to Atlanta, to protest with their community. JR Smith joined the protests in California, and was involved in a lot more than a peaceful protest.

Early on yesterday, JR Smith shared an incredible photo on his Instagram page. It was a good shot, yes, but it also just encompassed so many emotions that people are struggling through, during these times and throughout these protests. Several individuals stand on the hood of a burnt down, graffitied, windowless vehicle. Three men raise their fist in the air, as the female holds up tall a sign “No Justice, No Peace.” Everyone is decked out in all black apparel. There is chaos at the background, but they are the forefront and focus of this photo. A remarkable gesture to describe what the protests are looking like in certain areas, and remind those watching what this is all about. Here alone, JR Smith gets a terrible amount of hate in the comments, however it is justified by others. If you care so much about this car, why do you not seem to care about George Floyd's life?

Throughout the burning of vehicles, and the break in of shops, it seems there is a common theme. We do not know why these stores are being broke into, and what that helps in the duty to arrest the three remaining officers in this case. However, owners of these shops continue to share that their merchandise will be replaced, George’s life, cannot. With that, they do not turn their backs on the protestors, whom are for fighting what is right.

Though this message speaks volumes, why hurt the innocent? Plenty of innocent people were abused by officials during these times. But what about people completely off the grid from the protests? Well, this is where JR Smith felt a piece of destruction himself. Videos have gone viral of JR Smith aggressively beating a young white male, who reportedly busted JR’s window of his truck. The boy can be seen on the ground against a mini van, with JR Smith kicking him multiple times. Once he gets up, JR Smith punches him once more, landing right on his face. JR has two friends whom are trying to shield cameras of surrounding individuals recording, asking them to respect his privacy, but of course this did not work out to plan. The world has now seen this video, and JR Smith has addressed it, himself. He claims that a white boy broke in the window to his truck, which was parked residentially, no where near the protests. The boy would not have known whose car it was, and he got beat up pretty badly.

Did the kid know? Was it backlash for the post? Or was this just a kid gone wild amongst the destruction, feeling that he had the right to do whatever he wished with no consequences? The idea of innocent people being hurt, and property being damaged, when attempting to do good is just so saddening. I do not blame JR Smith whatsoever for his emotions and gut reaction. However, as this has blown up so much, and that kid stood no chance against JR from the start, we will have to see what the NBA has to say after reviewing this footage. This may be the end of the 2020 season for JR Smith.