The Minnesota Timberwolves just lost in the NBA’s Western Conference Finals.
But there was – and still is – a very powerful man behind the operation that goes well beyond the sport of basketball.
Meet Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Tru Pettigrew, who is instrumental in helping the organization take on racial justice and social inequalities following the killing of George Floyd in May 2020, according to NBC News.
Six months after Floyd was killed, Pettigrew twice turned down the Timberwolves position. However, he eventually accepted the opportunity that he couldn’t ignore.
“We all had those callings and those assignments at different seasons of our lives,” Pettigrew said. “I was called here to build those bridges. There were phenomenal people here doing work, but they were working in silos. Sports brings people together from all walks of life.”
Pettigrew eventually got on the ball, building trust with the Minneapolis Police and players on the team, who marched with activists against police brutality as protests erupted Black people from their home court. It was this time the spotlight was on Minnesota, the state with the widest inequality gaps between Black and white residents around the country, and its also known for the violent police killing of Floyd.
Pettigrew said the enhancing of social inequality and the tackling of racial injustice commitments were planned both internally and externally. From the inside, the organization created employee resource groups for employees of color, LGBTQ+ staffers and the women’s group, which was already created.
On the outside, the “Pack the Vote” program started in 2020 in an effort to encourage voter registration and turnout. Just last year in 2023, the T-volves used its influence to spark the
“Restore the Vote Act,” which was championed by current center Karl Anthony Towns. As a result, the bipartisan ballot measure passed, restoring voting rights for north of 55,000 former felons in Minnesota.
The Timberwolves are also one of the first teams in the NBA to give players as well as staff the day off on Election Day.
Pettigrew has also impacted George Floyd’s brother and his nephew, Brandon Williams, as he was with the family at the White House when President Joe Biden signed the executive order that promised “the most significant police reform in decades.”
Pettigrew is the founder of Tru Access, which serves as an empowerment consultant to help individual and organizations bridge gaps across areas that cause separation, division and dysfunction.
Photo Credit: Tru Access Website
