Words to action: Pacers' Malcolm Brogdon wants to organize a march in Indianapolis

Malcolm Brogdon wants to organize a march in Indianapolis.

The timing could be tough. It depends on when he needs to report back — he says he'll return to Indiana about a week before whenever that date is — but he wants to see the Pacers marching. He's been talking with coach Nate McMillan almost every day on the phone, not about basketball but about ideas. And about how he can make an impact.

"We've been having conversations for years," Brogdon said in a Zoom call with local media Friday afternoon. "And now it's about actions, it's about solutions."

Brogdon was in Atlanta last week to protest police brutality after George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis. He hadn't planned to go.

But after Celtics star Jaylen Brown mentioned he'd be driving down in a group text, Brogdon reached out. He was nervous at first, but then it came into perspective.

"It was sorta impromptu, and it ended up being very powerful," Brogdon said. "It’s one of those things where you don’t know what a protest, you don’t know what a march feels like until you’re a part of it. It’s one of those things that can be scary, it’s one of those things right now, you see so many people on TV getting injured and having all the trouble with police, and it can be problematic for sure if it gets out of hand. 

"But the way that was handled, the way it went, it definitely was something that was empowering."

Brogdon, whose charitable initiatives in the past have included building water wells in East Africa, said he plans to launch his foundation in the coming weeks. He wants it to focus on three or four schools in Indianapolis with predominantly minority children. He foresees building mentoring and literacy programs at each of those schools, and hopes the Pacers and the city get behind it.

Among the changes he wants to see: more voting.

"I think more so than federal and state, people look at the big voting, I think locally voting," Brogdon said. "Voting for your prosecutors, voting for, where really a lot of the unjust acts happen."

As some athletes have said now isn't an appropriate time for the NBA to focus on a restart, amid nationwide protests and a pandemic, Brogdon leans toward the other end of the spectrum, knowing his philanthropy costs money. And knowing that with basketball, he has the ability to make a statement.

Brogdon has a platform. Asked whether he might go into politics, Brogdon demurred, saying only that he's thought about it. But he knows how to use that platform nonetheless.

“I think pro athletes, regardless of their race, have a responsibility to be a part of the solution," Brogdon said. "I think speaking up is a way that you can demonstrate that you’re part of the solution but I think there are other ways. I think you can speak out by writing articles or being in the protests or there’s a whole host of ways you can figure out how to be a part of the solution and not part of the problem.

"I think the biggest thing — the biggest problem — is being silent. I think when you’re silent, and not just in terms of talking about it, but silent in terms of not taking any action or being a part of the solution. I think that’s when we become a problem and you’re hurting rather than helping.”