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Former St. John’s basketball standout Moe Harkless shares troubling story

By Kevin Connelly

Former St. John's basketball standout Maurice Harkless plays for the Portland Trail Blazers.
Former St. John's basketball standout Maurice Harkless plays for the Portland Trail Blazers. /
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Former St. John’s basketball standout Maurice Harkless shared a troubling story regarding a run-in with the police during his time in Portland.

Once again social and racial injustices have reared its ugly head in the United States of America as Jacob Blake was shot in the back seven times in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Blake is fighting for his life in the hospital but is currently paralyzed, although it is unclear whether that will be temporary or permanent.

However, professional athletes all across the county are taking action, most notably in the NBA as the Milwaukee Bucks decided to boycott Game Five of the Eastern Conference Playoffs against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday afternoon.

The decision then trigged all other NBA teams to boycott its playoff games on Wednesday, trickling into Thursday and while there were rumors that the NBA would not finish its playoffs, it has been reported that the league hopes to resume play later this week.

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Teams across the NFL, MLB, WNBA, and MLS, among others have boycotted games and practices in order to stand in solidarity with Jacob Blake.

In light of yet another form of police brutality, former St. John’s standout Maurice Harkless shared a troubling story on his Twitter page regarding an event with police officers during his time with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Harkess, a Queens, New York native, only played one season with the Red Storm in 2011-12, forgoing the remaining three years of his collegiate eligibility.

The 6-foot-7 forward was the No. 15 overall pick of the Philadelphia 76es in the 2012 NBA Draft but was then traded to the Orlando Magic.

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Harkess spent three seasons with the Magic before being traded to the Portland Trail Blazers where he spent four seasons with the organization.

The former Johnnie was then traded again in a four-team deal which saw him land with the Los Angeles Clippers who sent Harkless back home to New York after 50 games with the team in a trade with the Knicks.