Doc Rivers Ignores Facts, Race Baits, Calls The Minneapolis Shooting 'Murder'

Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers addressed the ICE shooting in Minneapolis this week during a postgame press conference on Friday.

"What happened in Minnesota was a straight-up murder, in my opinion," Rivers said when asked about athletes participating in politics.

"It’s awful. This lady was probably trying to go home, and she didn’t make it home, and that’s really sad. The whole ICE thing is, it’s a travesty."

Rivers then accused ICE of racism.

"It’s clear to me we’re attacking brown people, and I just happen to be brown," Rivers said about the death of Renée Nicole Good. "I don’t think it should just be brown people who are upset at this. I think we all have to be."

Now, for some truths.

First, the ICE officer almost certainly did not commit "murder," as Rivers claimed. Murder is a legal term with a specific definition. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the agent acted in self-defense after Good allegedly attempted to ram federal officers with her vehicle.

Cellphone video footage released Friday from an agent’s vantage point appears to show the vehicle driving toward the officer, who shouts "whoa" before shots ring out.

Take a look:

"She drove right at him," OutKick founder Clay Travis observed.

Comments like Rivers’s underscore the recurring issue with athletes and coaches wading into political and social controversies: they often lack sufficient context or knowledge of the facts. 

Too frequently, their remarks echo left-wing talking points rather than careful analysis. Notice how Rivers injected race into his monologue -- and how no one in the press room corrected or even questioned him.

He’s not alone.

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr also called the incident "murder" earlier this week.

"It’s shameful, really, that in our country we can have law enforcement officers who commit murder and seemingly get away with it. It’s shameful that the government can come out and lie about what happened when there’s video and witnesses who have all come out and disputed what the government is saying," Kerr told reporters.

"So, very demoralizing — devastating to lose anyone’s life, especially in that manner. So it’s terrible, terribly sad for her family, and for her, and that city."

Related: Insufferable NBA Scumbag Steve Kerr Lies Through His Teeth About ICE Shooting

Elsewhere, ESPN commentator Mina Kimes, who is seemingly exempt from ESPN's "ban on politics," dismissed anyone who disagrees with her as "not human."

"The ghouls on this app are reacting to this the way you’d expect, but they are not real people," Kimes wrote on X in response to coverage of the shooting. "Real people — your neighbors, friends, anyone with a conscience — see this and feel angry and sad. Real people know it’s wrong."

OutKick asked Kimes on Friday if she was aware of the newly released footage contradicting the videos she had shared. She did not respond, though she thanked us for using a "great" photo of her.

They always turn to Bluesky.

To be clear, we don’t believe that figures in sports must refrain from political commentary. Rather, we wish they’d get their facts straight before spreading premature conclusions and often faulty information to the public.

It would also be refreshing if voices in sports didn’t feel compelled to self-censor when their opinions deviate from the pre-approved narratives.

Based on available footage and information, it seems likely that many athletes, coaches, and pundits believe the officer acted in self-defense. Yet they know better than to say so publicly.

As a result, intellectual lightweights like Doc Rivers end up setting the tone for the entire sports world. That's a disservice to everyone involved.