Steph Curry pens a beautiful Veterans Day article

Stephen Curry is finding his voice, and it’s pretty wonderful. The Golden State Warriors’ superstar point guard has been a hot topic off the court lately, from his views on peaceful protests, to being the recipient of a Donald Trump Twitter insult.

Now, in a special essay titled “The Noise”, for The Players’ Tribune, Curry spoke eloquently and thoughtfully about veterans in America. He spoke about his experience talking with veterans, and what it means to support them, and create a country that actually takes care of them when they return home.

The entire piece is a must read, but here’s one of the highlights:

But when someone tells me that my stances, or athlete stances in general, are “disrespecting the military” — which has become a popular thing to accuse peaceful protestors of — it’s something that I’m going to take very, very seriously. One of the beliefs that I hold most dear is how proud I am to be an American — and how incredibly thankful I am for our troops. I know how fortunate I am to live in this country, and to do what I do for a living, and to raise my daughters in peace and prosperity. But I also hear from plenty of people who don’t have it nearly as good as I do. Plenty of people who are genuinely struggling in this country. Especially our veterans.

And every single veteran I’ve spoken to, they’ve all said pretty much the exact same thing: That this conversation we’ve started to have in the world of sports … whether it’s been Colin kneeling, or entire NFL teams finding their own ways to show unity, or me saying that I didn’t want to go to the White House — it’s the opposite of disrespectful to them.

The points Curry makes - both in the quoted text, and in the article at large - are incredibly important. But I’ll let him make those points, since he made them so well.

Read the full article when you get a chance. It’s not only a touching tribute and call for help for America’s veterans, but an important perspective on what protest and discussion actually mean to those directly impacted.

We’re pretty lucky to have Curry. Thankfully, that point is not lost on another thoughtful member of the team, coach Steve Kerr, who tweeted his adoration.