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Raptors star Pascal Siakam knows what racism looks like, and how much it hurts: ‘It needs to be called out’

It hit Pascal Siakam one day recently, as parts of the world were exploding in rage against ingrained racism and the subtle ways it’s practised all around us, and how inured too many are to it.

The Raptors all-star forward was having a simple conversation with his brother in the wake of the murder of George Floyd when a moment in personal history came up.

“He worked at Enterprise, and some lady came in and was like, ‘Oh, I want to talk to an American,’” Siakam recounted during a Wednesday conference call with reporters.

“I don’t know what that means.