{"id":571516,"date":"2026-01-30T21:24:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T21:24:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/571516\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T21:24:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T21:24:20","slug":"nba-legends-demand-accountability-from-anthony-edwards-over-minnesota-tragedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/571516\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Legends Demand Accountability From Anthony Edwards Over Minnesota Tragedy"},"content":{"rendered":"

A second shooting involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement shook Minneapolis, prompting the NBA to delay the Timberwolves-Warriors game out of respect for the community. In the aftermath, Anthony Edwards appeared unaware of the severity of what had unfolded in the city. His comments irked the NBA community, as they didn\u2019t address the severity of the situation.<\/p>\n

Celtics legend Paul Pierce said he doesn\u2019t fault Edwards for choosing not to take a public stance on sensitive issues. He references Michael Jordan not aligning himself with any political opinions. But as the face of the franchise, Pierce emphasized that Edwards needs to recognize how much weight his words carry.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYou\u2019re the face of Minnesota so like people respect and want to hear your opinion on the things because your voice carries a lot of weight\u2026 If you going to speak on it, make sure you\u2019re knowledgeable about it,\u201d Pierce said.<\/p>\n

Former Laker Danny Green didn\u2019t feel the same way. Since the event happened in Minnesota and the news spread locally, Green felt Edwards should have had some knowledge about it. And if he was going to comment, Green felt he needed to treat the moment with the seriousness it deserved.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should know what\u2019s going on,\u201d Green said on No Fouls Given. \u201cIf you are going to speak on it, speak in a serious manner. Give a strong opinion or no opinion. He kinda gave no opinion. He didn\u2019t seem like he was that concerned or taking what was going on that seriously\u201d.<\/p>\n

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Anthony Edwards did mention he wasn\u2019t aware of the circumstances. He even offered his support. \u201cI\u2019m behind whatever they with,\u201d he said. It didn\u2019t capture the strong emotions attached to the latest shooting. Although Edwards is only 24, he is already a prominent voice in the city, and that responsibility comes with expectations.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, the situation called for empathy, something his Timberwolves<\/a> teammate Julius Randle provided by directly acknowledging the pain felt across the community. Edwards\u2019 comments failed to underscore the traumatic events that took place. Hopefully, he will learn from this incident as he continues to gain greater stardom.<\/p>\n

Anthony Edwards doesn\u2019t want to be the face of the league<\/p>\n

Talent, charisma, and an electric charm, Anthony Edwards possesses all the traits to be one of the faces of the NBA. He\u2019s already become a young leader for the Timberwolves, willing them to consecutive WCF appearances. Naturally, many would expect Edwards to embrace that responsibility.<\/p>\n

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But it\u2019s quite the opposite. Anthony Edwards just wants to play and win. \u201cThat\u2019s what they\u2019ve got Wemby for,\u201d the Timberwolves ace told reporters.<\/p>\n

Victor Wembanyama is from France and probably has no obligation to speak about what happened. Yet, he chose to be sensitive and provided a raw response. \u201cEvery day I wake up and see the news, and I\u2019m horrified. I think it\u2019s crazy that some people might make it seem like or make it sound like the murder of civilians is acceptable,\u201d said the Spurs\u2019 international cornerstone.<\/p>\n

That right there showed the difference. Wemby came from a knowledgeable position and didn\u2019t feel the need to concern himself with the repercussions of speaking openly. Edwards, who said he is off social media, is solely focused on the game of basketball.<\/p>\n

But with the tragedy unfolding in the city he represents every night, many felt Edwards missed an opportunity to connect with the community on a human level.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A second shooting involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement shook Minneapolis, prompting the NBA to delay the Timberwolves-Warriors game…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":571517,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3782],"tags":[375,676,208,7,46,1333,2397,44433,376,4164,307,152,3954,6,2078,534,6433,308,3209,2474],"class_list":["post-571516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-minnesota-timberwolves","tag-anthony-edwards","tag-atlanta","tag-atlanta-hawks","tag-basketball","tag-celtics","tag-danny-green","tag-georgia","tag-immigration-and-customs-enforcement","tag-julius-randle","tag-mandatory-credit","tag-minnesota","tag-minnesota-timberwolves","tag-minnesotatimberwolves","tag-nba","tag-paul-pierce","tag-spurs","tag-state-farm-arena","tag-timberwolves","tag-usa","tag-wemby"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115986161087598417","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=571516"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571516\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/571517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=571516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=571516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=571516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}