Rhetorical Analysis on "Privileged" by Kyle Korver

After I read Privileged by Kyle Korver, I knew I had to write about it as I felt a
personal connection to the essay. On April 18, 2019, Kyle Korver felt that he needed to
address white privilege and racism after he personally witnessed several incidents
occurring to his teammates who were people of color. He was so moved by the injustice
in the black community and he knew that he needed to talk about it. This was a moving
essay that can be read by anyone. Due to Korver’s brave response and stand against
racism, it helped others acknowledge how real this issue is in America.

Kyle Korver is a 6’7 ft. American basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks' and
in 2007-2010, he was playing for the Utah Jazz. During this time he recalls a
memorable conversation that led him to write about it. Korver begins to write about a
memory in which a fellow teammate, Thabo Sefolosha, was injured during an incident
with the police. Before he was told the full extent of the situation, his thoughts were to
blame Thabo; he knew that if it were him out at the same club it wouldn’t have
happened to him because he was a white male. This is where Korver begins to develop
pathos, as he shares his emotions and thoughts towards the situation. “Everyone was
upset. I was upset — and embarrassed, too. But there was another emotion in the room
that day, one that was harder to put a finger on. It was almost like….. disappointment,
mixed with exhaustion. Guys were just sick and tired of it all.” Korver slowly began to
put all the pieces together, he knew all the slander was racially biased due to his
teammates' skin color. It was like the stories kept coming, during games there were
racial slurs said towards players, there was more hate speech that he started to notice
than ever before. This brought major concern to him, this was rarely talked about and
he knew it was completely unfair. What the news was covering wasn’t the whole truth
and getting the conversation started was just the beginning.

Although difficult to admit Korver explains that he has never experienced this
sort of treatment towards him. He then goes on to write about his slow realization that it
has to do with him being a white male and that there were in fact stereotypes
established in society. He was completely oblivious, he then began to educate himself
on the history of racism in America. Korver provides statistics to establish Ethos and
states, “The fact that black Americans are more than five times as likely to be
incarcerated as white Americans is wrong. The fact that black Americans are more than
twice as likely to live in poverty as white Americans is wrong. The fact that black
unemployment rates nationally are double that of overall unemployment rates is wrong.
The fact that black imprisonment rates for drug charges are almost six times higher
nationally than white imprisonment rates for drug charges is wrong. The fact that black
Americans own approximately one-tenth of the wealth that white Americans own is
wrong.” He provides the audience with this information to demonstrate that racism is
real and those who show this distasteful quality should be held accountable. If there
was something to do he wanted to do it, making sure that the audience knew what was
really going on around them was completely unacceptable.

As I finished reading this, I knew that this reached a greater audience than just
sports fans. Although Kyle Korver is a basketball player, he was using his platform to
explain the injustices those might face for being a person of color. What I also took from
his speech was that racism happens and just because it doesn’t happen to someone
first hand, that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening to millions of other people. Korver
realized the emotions that sparked inside of him due to the racism he saw over and
over, he then began to get informed and learn more about this injustice towards people
of color. The logo occurs as he begins to reason what is right and what is wrong and he
knows that white privilege is real. “Two concepts that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately
are guilt and responsibility. When it comes to racism in America, I think that guilt and
responsibility tend to be seen as more or less the same thing. But I’m beginning to
understand how there’s a real difference. As white people, are we guilty of the sins of
our forefathers? No, I don’t think so. But are we responsible for them? Yes, I believe we
are.” It is that logic that got him motivated to write about it and inspire others to change.

Korver’s main idea for this article was to address racism on and off the court.
Not only how it was wrong but how his privilege as a white man made him oblivious to
the reality of it all. It was a moving essay that deserves to be read and taken whole
heartedly, it can be hard to address a topic as serious and sensitive as racism in the
United States, but as many people before him, he knew this sort of behavior shouldn’t
be tolerated. Many people like myself included can relate to this. “If you’re wearing my
jersey at a game? Know that about me. If you’re planning to buy my jersey for someone
else…… know that about me. If you’re following me on social media….. know that about
me. If you’re coming to Jazz games and rooting for me….. know that about me.” As he
concludes his essay, he wants people to remember what he said and associate his
movement with him and what he represents. It is inspiring to read about a white male
who realized the amount of injustice going on, it was his awareness that made his
teammates, friends and the media talking about it.