Former Warriors champ speaks out on wasteful tax dollars amidst San Francisco’s growing homelessness and crime

Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Former Golden State Warriors forward and 2022 NBA champion Juan Toscano-Anderson is disheartened by use of San Francisco’s tax dollars given the current state of the city.

On Saturday, police arrested several people during the annual “Dolores Hill Bomb” which features skaters riding down the steep hill on Dolores Street alongside the park.

According to CBS, police in the area were in riot gear and arrested 32 adults and cited over 80 juveniles after the authorities shut down the annual “Dolores Hill Bomb.”

“The San Francisco Police Department issued a press release Sunday morning detailing their response to the incident,” CBS wrote. “Police said officers from the Mission Station first responded at 6:15 p.m. after initial reports of fireworks being set off and vandalism came in with some area residents saying they feared for their safety and were unable to get to their homes, according to the SFPD.”

The police “seized multiple firearms left at the scene in addition to unignited fireworks and narcotics paraphernalia” during the arrests made.

San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said that the events at “Dolores Hill Bomb” would not be tolerated, stating that the “dangerous and unlawful behavior put members of the public and our officers at risk of serious injury or worse.”

Toscano-Anderson seemed frustrated by the scene, citing the potential remedy of the city’s issues with homelessness and robberies as a better use of people’s tax dollars.

The 2022 NBA champion played high school basketball in Castro Valley, Calif., and he spent the first three seasons of his NBA career with the Warriors.

During the 2022-23 season, Toscano-Anderson played for the Los Angeles Lakers and the Utah Jazz. He appeared in 22 games for Utah, averaging 3.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 15.2 minutes per game.

The Jazz decided to renounce their free agent rights to Toscano-Anderson this offseason, making him an unrestricted free agent.

It’s unclear if Toscano-Anderson will be close to the Bay Area with his next NBA team, but it’s likely that he will still give back to the area.

The former Warrior has a foundation, Journey to Achieve (JTA), which “provides resources and opportunities to families in need within the U.S and Latin America. Current programming is based in the Oakland area.”

It’s great to see him attempting to enact the change he wants to see in the community.