Friday 24 July 2020 13:18, UK
LeBron James used his news conference following the Los Angeles Lakers' first scrimmage game in the NBA bubble to call for justice for Breonna Taylor.
The 26-year-old Taylor, a medical worker, was shot and killed by plainclothes police officers raiding her home in Louisville, Kentucky, in March.
None of the three officers involved have yet been charged, but NBA and WNBA players are calling attention to the case as both leagues prepare to resume play.
'Justice for Breonna Taylor' has been a consistent refrain in player interviews at the NBA's campus in central Florida. Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris used a media session to call for the arrest of Taylor's killers.
WNBA players, whose season tips of in Bradenton, Florida, on July 25, will all wear jerseys with Taylor's name in their games over the league's opening weekend. All players will each have the option to continue to wear Taylor's name on their jersey for subsequent games.
James echoed Harris' calls in a news conference after the Lakers' 108-104 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, their first of the pre-restart scrimmages before the July 30 resumption of the 2019-20 NBA season.
"As one of the leaders of this league, I want [Breonna Taylor's] family to know, and I want the state of Kentucky to know that we feel for her and we want justice", he said..
"That's what it's all about. What's right is right and what's wrong is wrong. This is a wrong situation going on in my eyes and in a lot of other eyes, not only here in America but [across] the world as well.
"The energy we have on the floor is the same energy we have towards having justice for Breonna Taylor and her family. That's the energy we bring to the game. That's who we are."
James has consistently been the league's leading voice in the calls for social change, dating back to his Miami Heat days. In February 2012, James - along with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh and their Heat team-mates - called for justice following the killing of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed teenager shot and killed by a neighbourhood crime-watch volunteer.
"I am just who I have been for quite a while now, never afraid to speak about things I am knowledgeable about, have insight on and was up-to-speed on," James reflected. "With the Trayvon Martin case years ago, I spoke about that situation. [Same] with the George Floyd incident that happened not too long ago, that was a horrible incident. And [now with] the Breonna Taylor situation.
"It is fortunate that we had the George Floyd video to see it. I mean, is that what we need? To see a video of Breonna being killed for people to realise how bad the situation is?
"I have never shied away from being who I am and speaking about things that hit home for me, but also affect my community and affect black people. We have been going through it a lot.
"I saw a video today of a black man trying to buy a bike for his son. The cops were called on him. He had a receipt and everything. They arrested him inside the store and took him outside. It is heartbreaking.
"Unless you are a person of colour, you guys won't understand. I understand that you might feel for us but can never truly understand what it is to be black in America. Once again, that is what it is about."
