LeBron James Dedicates Press Conference To Breonna Taylor
The officers involved in the death of Breonna Taylor, Brett Hankison, Jon Mattingly and Myles Cosgroveto, have still not been arrested.
And now several NBA players, from LeBron James to Paul George, want to make sure no one forgets the 26-year-old EMT worker.
Sitting down with the media after the Lakers' played in a scrimmage against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday (July 24), James said, "I want to continue to shed light on justice for Breonna Taylor and to her family and everything that's going on with that situation.”
He continued, "As one of the leaders of this league, I want her family to know, and I want the state of Kentucky to know that we feel for her and we want justice. What's right is right, and what's wrong is wrong."
James also called out how the outrage for George Floyd has not matched Breonna Taylor, "It’s fortunate that we had the George Floyd video to see it, but is that what we need to see a video of Breonna being killed for people to realize how bad the situation is?"
He added, “I don’t believe they were at the right place. The cops weren’t even in at the right place. They knocked down the wrong door and started doing what they do at that time and just started shooting away. It’s just not okay."
Watch a clip of the press conference, below:
On July 22, George, who plays for the Los Angeles Clippers, refused to talk about basketball during his post-game press conference after his team beat the Orlando Magic.
“There are so many others that have been brutally murdered by the hands of police,” George said. “That’s all I got. That’s my message for everyone. That will continue to be my answer."
On March 13, Breonna Taylor was shot and killed by police after officers served a no-knock raid on her apartment in search of a suspect who had already been arrested.
No-knock warrants have been banned in Louisville since Taylor’s death.
George continued, "Her murderers are still free, so nothing was done yet. We’re going to continue to keep this fight going to use our platform to stand up for those that can’t stand anymore."
See George in the press conference, below:
A petition has called for every officer involved in her death to be fired, arrested, and criminally charged. It also demands Taylor’s family receive financial compensation from the department for wrongful death and negligence and for Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron to appoint an outside special prosecutor to investigate the LPD.
LeBron James and Paul George aren’t the only ones to divert press conference questions.
Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris, Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum, Los Angeles Lakers guard Alex Caruso and center Dwight Howard, Denver Nuggets forward Jerami Grant and Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown have shifted press conferences to focus on injustice.
See Dwight Howard in a July 18 press conference in the video below.
BET has been covering every angle of the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks and other social justice cases and the subsequent aftermath and protests. For our continuing coverage, click here.
