Homelessness isn’t a slam dunk issue for NBA legend Bill Walton.
The former professional basketball player and sports commentator has called out Todd Gloria, the mayor of San Diego, Calif., over the lack of action on the homeless crisis in the city after he claims he was assaulted.
According to the Voice of San Diego, Walton has written several letters to Gloria asking him to take action over the conduct of the homeless population.
In a letter dated Aug. 28, Walton said he was riding his bicycle through a park when he was “threatened, chased and assaulted by the homeless population.”
“Once again, you’ve done, and continue to do, nothing,” wrote Walton.
Four days prior to that, in another letter, Walton chirped the mayor, stating Gloria claims that he stood for the rights of the homeless, but not the rights of citizens.
“We follow the rules of a functioning society, why are others allowed to disregard those rules. Your lack of action is unacceptable, as is the conduct of the homeless population.”
According to the New York Post, there has been a surge in homelessness in many large cities across the United States, including San Diego.
Walton has also taken Gloria to task on Instagram, stating in one post he no longer feels safe living in San Diego.
“Sadly, and with a broken heart, I can no longer say that my hometown of San Diego, is the greatest place in the world, I can no longer say that SD is a safe, healthy, clean, and beautiful place, I can no longer urge my family, friends, tourists, and businesses to come to SD to live, work, and play,” said Walton.
“I can no longer say that our neighbourhood for the last 43 years is still my dream, I am brokenhearted, Mayor @toddgloria — clean up our city, and let us reclaim our lives, we must fix our homeless crisis, we need engagement, rehabilitation, and constant enforcement, and we need it now.”
In another Instagram post, Walton demanded Gloria to “give us our park, our bike paths, our neighbourhood, our community and our lives back.” Walton said the situation is getting out of hand and “it costs more to keep people on the street than to get them off.”
“We need consistent engagement, more bridge shelters, combined with more services and consistent enforcement, and we need it NOW.”
It’s not known whether Gloria has responded to Walton’s correspondence.
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