When we watch our favorite athletes play, it’s easy to get lost in the excitement of competition and forget that these are real people with traumatic life experiences. The Minnesota Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert recently reminded his fans of everything he’s had to overcome to make it to the NBA.

Rudy Gobert is on the verge of becoming a 4-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year. For one reason or another, Gobert hasn't ever gotten the respect of his peers in the NBA, and this potential upcoming award seems to be another topic of contentious conversation.

Minnesota Timberwolves star Rudy Gobert detailed the racism he experienced as a child from members of his own family in an essay published Monday by

NBA player Rudy Gobert recently penned an essay about how the racial discrimination he faced within his family at a young age due to being a product of an interracial relationship and how it fueled his purpose.

Rudy Gobert and the Minnesota Timberwolves are set to enter the NBA playoffs as one of the top seeds in the Western Conference. Ahead of that exciting time for Timberwolves players and fans, Gobert penned a personal story in the Players' Tribune – and it included a shocking tale of family racism:

She was devastated,” Gobert wrote. “And obviously, she spent Christmas with me instead. She told them, ‘If that’s the way you think, then you’re not going to see me anymore. Not at Christmas. Not ever.