Steph Curry Says Rich and Famous Black Americans Face 'Subtle Racism'

Stephen Curry has spoken out against the "subtle racism" that successful African Americans face in their daily lives, explaining they are often seen as "anomalies."

As a three-time NBA champion and two-time MVP, the Golden State Warriors start is one of the greatest NBA players of his generation, but he highlighted how fame and success are not considered common when it comes to Black people.

"The preconceived notions of how they view rich, successful Black people as anomalies and our intelligence and our well-spokenness, that's always the first thing you hear," Curry told NBC Sports in an interview for the broadcaster's Race and Sports in America: Conversations series on Monday.

"If somebody knows how to be articulate if they know how to [...] come into a room—that's the subtle racism and prejudice that kind of starts to add on itself.

"And if another white person hears that comment, they're going to think the same thing. And it's not going to trickle down to anybody else, and be able to create opportunities for somebody else to get that in that room and prove their value, prove their worth."

Speaking with NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, Curry added Black people simply wanted to be treated equally, echoing a point made by many campaigners who have lent their voice to the Black Lives Matter campaign in recent months.

"It's just shifting perspectives and, again, holding everybody accountable whether it's a private conversation, whether it's a tweet, whether it's a video," he explained.

"Whatever it is, to do the right thing, no pun intended, but to see everybody as equal and that's all we're asking for."

Barkley, meanwhile, acknowledged there was a stark difference in the way rich Black Americans are treated compared to their poorer counterparts.

"The notion that rich and famous Black people are treated like regular Black people, that's not right," the 1993 MVP said. "We get treated great. But I always worry about how we treat poor Black people.

In the wake of George Floyd's killing on May 25, several NBA players have been vocal in demanding social changes and calling for an end to racial discrimination.

Floyd died while in police custody in Minneapolis after Derek Chauvin, a white officer, knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes while arresting him.

The NBA has backed the players' stance and has given them the opportunity to wear a social justice message on their jerseys when the season resumes in Orlando, Florida, at the end of the month.

Players will be allowed to wear a social justice message for the first four days of the resumption. After that, players can still carry a social justice message on the back of their jerseys but their names have to be beneath it.

The NBA and the NBA Players Association have agreed on a list of 29 slogans which, according to ESPN, include Black Lives Matter, I Can't Breathe, Power to the People and Anti-Racist.

Last week, NBPA executive director Michele Roberts told ESPN's The Undefeated that out of the 350 players involved in the season restart, 285 had opted to have a social justice message on their jerseys.

Los Angeles Lakers stars Anthony Davis and LeBron James, however, have both opted not to wear a message on their jerseys.

Curry and the Warriors won't be among the 22 teams involved in Orlando as they were mathematically eliminated from playoffs contention by the time the novel coronavirus pandemic forced the NBA to halt the season on March 13.