Nugget striker Jerami Grant answered all questions about basketball and bubbles during a recent interview discussing Breonna Taylor.
Several other NBA players followed suit.
76ers onwards Tobias Harris
Harris asked about Russell Westbrook’s social justice shirts, through Paul Hudrick of NBC Sports Philadelphia:
“Nothing against the shirts, but we want to make sure of that [Kentucky attorney general] Daniel Cameron arrests the cops and officers involved in Breonna Taylor’s death, “said Harris.” That’s all I have to say. “
Before another reporter could be called, Harris repeated the message.
“This will be my answer for every question: Daniel Cameron will step forward and do what is right. This is the only message I received today. “
Harris then politely thanked the media for the call and left.
Trail Blazer is home to CJ McCollum
McCollum, via Jamie Hudson of NBC Sports Northwest:
We have been very proactive with our conversations and phone calls. We actually made a Zoom call with Breonna Taylor’s mother a few days ago to get more information on everything that’s going on, everything that’s happened. I want to go on the record saying this [Kentucky Attorney General] Daniel Cameron is able to arrest the police officers responsible for killing Breonna Taylor and has not yet done so, so he is the one who is potentially capable of doing so. So we want to continue raising people like Breonna Taylor who are victims and have not received the right justice that is due to them.
“I think basketball is secondary,” said McCollum. “It is our job, of course and we have a responsibility to fulfill these obligations, but it is also our job to fulfill and protect our neighborhoods and protect people who resemble us and come from places like us and do not have exactly the same voices. that we do. I think it’s something that has been on our mind. We have been very proactive about it. “
The Celtic guard Marcus Smart
Smart, via Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe:
“Before I start, guys, my answer will be” Justice for Breonna Taylor, “said Smart.” This will be my answer for everything, so now I’ll let you guys know. Justice for Breonna Taylor. “
A reporter asked Smart if this would be his answer to a question about the team’s defense, and Smart said he would answer, “Justice for Breonna Taylor.”
Wing Celtics Jaylen Brown
Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston:
Breonna Taylor’s life counts that the whole department must be held responsible https://t.co/4x6jjPL0Fv
– Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO) July 19, 2020
Lakers guard Alex Caruso
Sports Illustrated Melissa Rohlin:
When Caruso was asked to be about to play in his first post-season, he replied by raising Taylor.
“I’m just going to answer, ‘We need justice for Breonna Taylor,” said Caruso. “This will be my answer to the rest of the questions if they are related to basketball and not relevant to me and my sister’s wedding.”
“I just got information from the rest of the players who are trying to stick with the message,” said Caruso. “This is one way we can control it from inside the bubble. Seems to be an important thing. Four months have passed since she was killed in her sleep and no one was held responsible. “
Clippers forward Paul George
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d91RjAZI9ZY
The wing of the birds of prey Terence Davis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy77elLrRUY
Grant’s press conference led to an important turning point. The Nuggets made a much stronger statement than practically any other major company:
Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor. #WholeNewGame #MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/gkrpxU8SRX
– Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) July 16, 2020
A billion dollar company that publishes “Stop the cops who killed Breonna Taylor” is no small feat. NBA players who come together to attract attention should only further advance the lawsuit.
I greet these players for speaking. They have a platform and that’s important.
I also appreciate that the common refrain was “Justice for Breonna Taylor” rather than “Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor”.
As I wrote when Grant raised the problem:
Taylor was killed in his home by Louisville police in March. Police were executing an “without knocking” warrant based on the alleged suspect that he was helping his boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, sell drugs. It is controversial whether the police announced themselves before using a ram to enter the apartment. Walker said he and Taylor were sleeping when the accident started. Walker, a licensed arms owner, called 911 and shot what he claims to believe was an intruder. Police responded to the fire and Taylor was shot dead.
None of the three officers involved in the shooting – Brett Hankison, Jonathan Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove – have been arrested. Only Hankison has been fired.
What happened to Taylor was a parody and the injustices are enormous.
Drug repression has led to extreme state violence. No-knock warrants – and even w-knock-and-announced performed in the middle of the night – put everyone involved at risk. Judges approve warrants with too little oversight.
Politicians who implement these drug laws should be held accountable. The police who order these extreme tactics should be held accountable. Judges who willingly consent to it (and police officers who take advantage of deceptive warrant requests) should be held accountable.
But agents in Taylor’s apartment don’t necessarily have to face criminal charges just for doing their job as required by the system. Hankison would have shot recklessly, and if he did, he would face charges. If one of the three officers has done something illegal, he should be charged. But the weight of a failed system should not fall on individual officers who follow the rules of that system. The officers were placed in an impossible situation – fired by someone who reasonably mistaken them for intruders. At that point, the police had the right to defend themselves. Just like Walker had the right to defend himself and Taylor at his home.
Taylor’s death was a tragedy.
The people who created the system that led to his death should be held accountable. And the system should have changed.
The war on drugs should be completely re-evaluated. Non-knock warrants must be eliminated. Warrants should be subject to greater scrutiny before being granted.
Getting justice for Breonna Taylor goes much higher than arresting these three policemen.
