Kyle Lowry says he'd rather be in a country like Canada than live in a Trump-led US
The increasingly tense and polarized political situation in the United States has led many Americans to genuinely consider moving to The Great White North over the past four years, and one basketball star recently admitted that he'd prefer to be in Canada than in his U.S. hometown under a Donald Trump presidency.
Kyle Lowry has been playing for the Toronto Raptors since 2012, and he's lived in Toronto as an expatriate for much of that time.
Originally, though, he's from Philadelphia, and that's where he was earlier this week when he cast his vote in the presidential election.
From @Klow7. #VOTE pic.twitter.com/f6ipcvdfFB
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) November 3, 2020
In an interview with the Washington Post on that same day, Lowry conceded that while he loves where he's from, he'd prefer to be outside the country while Trump is in charge.
"I'm glad I'm American. I love my country and everything about it," he said. "But to be led by a person like that, I'd rather be in a country [like] Canada and do my job and kind of speak from a sense of being an outsider looking in."
Being from the state of Pennsylvania, the importance of Lowry's vote cannot be understated considering it's one of the swing states that will likely help decide the presidency.
Trump won the state in 2016, and Lowry has become increasingly politically active during this election as a result — urging everyone from the state to get out and vote.
Kyle Lowry at a basketball gym in his Lowry’s Thanksgiving Assist hoodie, revving a Ferrari, telling you to go vote. Mark calls him Batman. An Election Day appearance for good luck. Hopefully. pic.twitter.com/Mxwoll09px
— Ari P. (@latenightmatcha) November 3, 2020
It's for this reason and so many others that Lowry is beloved by fans in Toronto and abroad: He's an incredible basketball player who also doesn't hesitate to stand up for what he believes in.
The point guard has a year left on his contract with the Raptors, and it remains unknown whether he'll stay in Toronto after that point.
Fortunately, there's a very good chance the U.S. will have a very different president by then.
Still, selfishly, most Raptors fans are undoubtedly hoping he'll stay with the team for as long as possible regardless of the political situation back in his hometown.
Hector Vasquez
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