(PAR THE WASHINGTON POST)
NBA players past and present show up and speak out to protest George Floyd’s death
Garner’s death, which occurred after he was placed in a chokehold by a police officer, also prompted a vocal response from NBA players. Many stars, including LeBron James, Derrick Rose, and Kobe Bryant, donned shirts that read “I can’t breathe” while warming up before games.
Stephen Jackson, a 14-year NBA veteran who retired in 2014, led a protest Friday in Minneapolis, where he was joined by Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Okogie of the Timberwolves. Identifying himself as Floyd’s longtime friend dating to their shared upbringings in Houston, the 42-year-old Jackson called Floyd his “twin” due to their shared physical resemblance.
“I’m here because they’re not going to demean the character of George Floyd, my twin,” Jackson told a large gathering in front of Minneapolis City Hall. “A lot of times when the police do things they know is wrong, the first thing they try to do is cover it up and bring up your background to make it seem like the bulls–t they did was worth it. When was murder ever worth it? But if it’s a black man, it’s approved. You can’t tell me, when that man [Chauvin] had his knee on my brother’s neck, taking his life away with his hand in his pocket, that that smirk on his face didn’t say, ‘I’m protected.’”
Chauvin was arrested Friday and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, but not until after multiple nights of heavy protests in Minneapolis. Protests continued Friday and Saturday nights in Minneapolis, Washington, New York, Los Angeles and a host of other cities across the country.
In Atlanta, Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics led a peaceful protest walk Saturday after downtown demonstrations on Friday. Brown, a Georgia native, coordinated meetups with fellow protesters on social media and carried a sign that read “I can’t breathe.” The crowd chanted “No justice, no peace. No racist police.”
“I’m a black man and a member of his community,” Brown said on a live video streamed on his Instagram account. “I grew up on this soil. This is a peaceful protest. We’re walking. That’s it. We’re raising awareness. Some of the injustice we’ve been seeing is not okay. As a young person, you’ve got to listen to our perspective. Our voices needed to be heard. I’m 23 years old. I don’t know all the answers, but I feel how everybody else is feeling.”
Indiana Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon joined Brown and addressed the group with a bullhorn, acknowledging its collective frustration while encouraging the protesters to avoid looting.
“I have brothers, sisters and friends who are in the streets,” he said. “Who are getting pulled over, discrimination, day after day. The same bulls–t. This is systematic. We don’t have to burn down our homes. We built this city. This is the most proudly black city in the world. Let’s take some pride in that. Let’s focus our energy. This is a moment. We have leverage right now. I have a grandfather who marched next to Dr. King in the ’60s. He would be proud to see us all here.”
With New York Knicks guard Dennis Smith Jr. and Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris participating in separate protests in Fayetteville, N.C. and Philadelphia, respectively, other prominent voices in the NBA community have taken to the airwaves and social media.
Former player Jalen Rose, now an ESPN commentator, said Friday that he “wish[ed] America loved black people as much as they love black culture.” Dwyane Wade, the former Miami Heat star turned TNT commentator, wrote on Twitter that “JUSTICE WILL NOT BE SERVED UNTIL THOSE UNAFFECTED ARE AS OUTRAGED AS THOSE WHO ARE.”
James, the Los Angeles Lakers forward and the sport’s biggest star, shared videos about the history of police brutality and mobilizing in response to Floyd’s death.
“This isn’t ok the way we’re treated man! I’m so hurtful for my people right this moment,” James wrote on Twitter.
Portland Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony shared images from the protests, demanding “JUSTICE FOR GEORGE” and writing on Instagram: “I Don’t See An American Dream, I See An American Nightmare. The Greatest Purveyor Of Violence In The World: My Own Government. I Can Not Be Silent.”
These players were joined by official statements from numerous NBA teams, including the Blazers, who decried the “senseless acts of violence in the long continuum of racial injustice in our country,” and the Raptors, who said “we cannot accept” racism and violence and that “we know grieving is not enough.”
Detroit Pistons Coach Dwane Casey, meanwhile, recalled his childhood in Kentucky, where he attended a newly integrated school “where I was not wanted nor welcomed.”
“I can remember exactly how I felt as an eight-year-old child,” Casey, who coached in Minnesota from 2005 to 2007, wrote in a statement Saturday. “I felt helpless. I felt as if I was neither seen, nor heard, nor understood. I see how many people continue to feel those same feelings — helpless, frustrated, invisible, angry.
“Black, white and brown people have to work together to find new answers. The only way we can stop the systemic problems that people of color have faced all our lives is through honesty and transparency. We have to understand why people are at their limit at this moment. It takes empathy, in its truest form.”
The outcry across professional basketball comes as the NBA remains shut down due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and the Board of Governors are working through plans for a return, with games expected to resume at Disney World’s ESPN Wide Word of Sports complex in late-Jul
