NBA: Spurs' Wembanyama 'horrified' by deaths of US citizens shot by masked Fed agents

San Antonio Spurs All-Star Victor Wembanyama expressed being “horrified” by the deaths of two American citizens in Minneapolis who were shot by masked federal agents.

The French forward suggested that the team’s PR department had guided him on how to respond to questions about the highly sensitive incidents. No formal charges or details from local, state, or federal investigations have been made public in either case.

“PR has tried, but I’m not going to sit here and give some politically correct answer,” Wembanyama said. “Every day I wake up and see the news, and I’m horrified. I think it’s crazy that some people make it sound like it’s acceptable, like the murder of civilians is acceptable.”

The NBA postponed Saturday’s game between the Golden State Warriors and the Minnesota Timberwolves in Minneapolis “to prioritize the safety and security of the Minneapolis community” after 37-year-old Alex Pretti was shot multiple times by a border patrol officer during a clash between agents and a small group of protesters. The incident took place less than a 20-minute walk from Target Center.

The teams later played the rescheduled game on Sunday afternoon and again on Monday at their regular times.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, known for speaking out on political and human rights issues, also voiced his concerns regarding the incidents.

“It’s not like they’re rooting out violent criminals. They’re taking 5-year-old kindergartners and U.S. citizens and detaining people. Immigration is a problem that needs to be addressed, but it needs to be addressed by Congress legislatively, not by military force in the streets, pulling people from their homes,” Kerr said.

Before the game, the Timberwolves held a moment of silence in honor of Pretti, similar to the tribute two weeks earlier when an ICE agent shot 37-year-old Renee Good multiple times in her car while she tried to move away from the scene of a confrontation.

-Field Level Media/Reuters