The killing of George Floyd hit home for former NBA player Stephen Jackson. 

Jackson, who played 14 seasons in the NBA, grew up in Houston, Texas with Floyd and opened up on Instagram about their times together.

On May 26, Jackson, 42, said through tears, "This what I gotta wake up to, huh? Floyd was my brother, man, we called each other 'twin,' bro… I had just sent him up two or three boxes of clothes. My boy was doing what he was supposed to do, man. Y'all went and killed my brother.”
He continued, "I'm on my way to Minnesota, man. Whatever I can do. I can't let this ride, dog. Y'all not going to be mad until this hits your front door. Bullsh—."

Watch the emotional Instagram video below:

Jackson also posted photos of Floyd wearing the clothes he sent to him. 

One of the captions read, "Nobody was more proud of my growth and my fatherhood more than #BigFloydDaGod. We will get justice. They will be writing a big check for your kids on behalf of Minnesota Police Dept. and u can bet dat Jack. Rest Easy Twin u wasn’t suppose to make it through the life u had change for the better then go out like this. F**k dat."

On May 25, 46-year-old George Floyd died after Officer Derek Chauvin held his knee to his neck for over five minutes. The fatal encounter was caught on video and went viral on social media. 

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called for criminal charges to be filed against Chauvin as well as Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J Alexander Kueng, who were all fired Wednesday (May 28).  

Chauvin, 44, was a 19-year veteran of the Minneapolis police force and had been the subject of at least a dozen complaints, but was never disciplined, NBC News reported. Thao and another officer, Robert Thunder, were reportedly sued in 2017 for excessive use of force. That case was settled for $25,000, according to the Star-Tribune. Kueng, and Lane have had no reported disciplinary actions taken against them prior to Floyd’s death.

Another NBA star has also spoken out about Floyd’s death. LeBron James took to his Instagram yesterday (May 27) and posted a now-commonly circulated meme showing Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck next to Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling protest movement and the words, “This… ...Is Why.” The Lakers superstar also wrote the caption, “Do you understand NOW!!??!!?? Or is it still blurred to you?? #StayWoke.” 

He also posted another picture of himself wearing a t-shirt reading, “I can’t breathe,” which at the time that he wore it referred to Eric Garner’s plea to police before he was killed by them. Floyd reportedly said the same words when Chauvin’s knee was on his neck.