Basketball has become much more democratic over time, but this discipline still contains certain stereotypes related to each person’s ethnic origins.

Recently retired, a former All-Star shared the prejudices he had to face during his career.

While the NBA is a competition that is tending to become more universal, it is still dominated by Americans in terms of representation.

More specifically, there are far more African-Americans than people from other populations.

Currently, more than 70% of the league’s players are black, and this disparity in origins gives rise to a phenomenon of trivializing certain prejudices.

Regardless of skin color, many people who have played this sport have been victims of it.

For example, Gordon Hayward does not necessarily complain about the negative treatment he has suffered, even if during his 15-year career, he has noticed certain things that he thinks are conditioned by the fact that he is white.

In a recent episode of the “Dan LeBatard Show,” he even told an anecdote about it.

Being white in the NBA, an additional difficulty?

For some reason in the NBA, when you play against a white guy, you have to isolate him in the minds of most players.

So you have to hope to make a stop on the first offensive play. Otherwise, they’re going to keep coming at you every possession.

I certainly wasn’t the worst defender on the team, but for some reason, people were always coming at me.

It’s a stereotype, but that’s just the way it is.

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I remember another story that doesn’t necessarily have to do with my skin color but more with my hair or my face, I think.

There was one time when we played against the Lakers in the preseason, Ron Artest was there and he came on.

He looked at me and started pointing at me and calling out Kobe Bryant. He was like, “Look who’s defending me, it’s Justin Bieber.”

While Gordon Hayward was mostly known for his offensive skills, he wasn’t a bad defender.

But because of his skin color, some players targeted him, thinking they could easily get the upper hand on him compared to other opponents.

That didn’t stop the former Jazz star from having a great career, even if fans are mostly remembering this story with Justin Bieber at the moment.

“Bieber defending me”

In his prime, Gordon Hayward was considered one of the best forwards in the league.

Still, he had a target on his back on defense for the simple reason that he is white.

In any case, that did not prevent him from shining on the courts.