The Minneapolis and Twin Cities community has been through a lot the past couple of weeks. The presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents has caused constant feelings of unease, fear, and anger, with many people apprehensive about even leaving their homes. It only got harder over the weekend.
On Saturday morning, an ICU nurse, Alex Pretti, was killed by federal officials. The event took place following a confrontation between federal officials and observers in South Minneapolis. Pretti’s death came just over two weeks after Renee Nicole Good was killed in a similar situation.
Nothing about Sunday’s game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors felt normal. With the game delayed 24 hours from Saturday’s original timeslot and peaceful protests happening throughout the city, including on the street in front of Target Center, there were not many people inside the arena who felt much like playing or talking about basketball.
Timberwolves Head Coach Chris Finch opened his pregame press conference with an emotional statement about what transpired the day before.
Finch would later say, “I’m more than a resident. This is my home. I love living here. I love being a part of this community. I’ve been embraced from Day 1. People have been amazing. It’s sad to watch what is happening. On the human level, certainly as somebody who takes great pride in being here, I know a lot of our players feel the same. They all love being here, and it’s just hard to watch what we’re going through.”
Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr also spoke before the game on the events in Minneapolis over the weekend, saying, “I’ve been following everything. It’s very sad. This has always been a great stop on the NBA tour. I love the city of Minneapolis. People here are wonderful, and it’s very sad what’s happening. I feel for the city. There’s a pall that’s been cast over the city. You can feel it. A lot of people are suffering, obviously a loss of life is the number one concern. Those families will never get their family members back. When all the unrest settles down, whenever that is, those family members won’t be returning home, and that’s devastating.”
The Timberwolves held a moment of silence for Pretti, as they did for Good two weeks prior. After about ten seconds of silence, a fan shouted “Fuck ICE,” which was met with cheers from the Target Center crowd.
When the game began, it was clear the Timberwolves were not in the right headspace to play basketball. They quickly fell behind 14-2 to start the game while turning it over nine times in the first quarter. They got the deficit down to just one by halftime, but got outscored by 21 points in the third quarter, eventually losing 111-85.
Players from both teams gave their feelings on the weekend’s events after the game. Like many of us, several Timberwolves players were glued to their phones and TVs, taking in the coverage of everything that was happening.
Julius Randle shared how everything has been affecting him and his thoughts for the local community.
“Regardless of politics, everything, there’s a human aspect to it. For me. I have kids. I have family. For me, the job as a man is to be a protector of the house. And when you see things like that, obviously it’s tough. It’s hard to stomach those things. I’m not political at all. I don’t get into any of that stuff, but it’s tough, regardless of whatever is going on. Somebody lose their life, you never want to see that. From the minute I’ve been here, Minneapolis has been great to me. The fans, the community, have been really behind me. Everyone. Neighbors that I live, community I live in, the school my son goes to, just everything. Been nothing but a joy living here so things like this happening in the community it’s tough. I don’t like seeing it.”
Anthony Edwards was asked a similar question about having a message for the Minnesota community.
The Warriors, who have been in town for a few days, have seen everything unfold during their stay in Minneapolis. On Friday, tens of thousands of people joined together in downtown Minneapolis for an anti-ICE protest. The march started near U.S. Bank Stadium and finished inside Target Center, passing right by the Warriors’ hotel room.
“I was pretty high up in my room, so I could see the whole street,” said Warriors guard Moses Moody. “I don’t know how many blocks, like, all the way down. And it was like, it’s not like a line of people, it’s like, it was a lot of people out there. I can actually see details of what’s going on and everything. But just seeing that large amount of people as they’re protesting over cause, it’s something.”
“I got videos on my phone of it all the way down,” Warriors superstar Stephen Curry explained. “Was like three straight hours, negative 10 degree weather. It was beautiful to see that turn out that speaks to how important you know, people felt to have their voice heard, and those elements and whatever streets right outside our hotel, they were they were out, and it was amazing to watch.”
When the game began on Sunday, the Warriors’ coaches and players could tell that the Wolves and their community were still not ready to play basketball. “Honestly, what I felt was that their group was suffering,” Kerr said in reference to the Timberwolves. “I thought the vibe in the stands, it was one of the most bizarre, sad games I’ve ever been a part of; you could feel the somber atmosphere.”
Kerr’s appraisal of Target Center Sunday night was absolutely correct. The tone walking into the arena was sour, the players on the court seemed to have their minds elsewhere, and the crowd was lifeless, all for good reason.
Eventually, the Timberwolves will have to shift their focus back to basketball, but Sunday night was not that night. From the top of the Wolves organization down to the ushers, the ticket takers, and the fans, no one really felt ready to participate in a basketball game.