Black Lives Matter: LeBron James calls for justice for Breonna Taylor after Lakers playoff loss
Wednesday 19 August 2020 16:07, UK
LeBron James used his news conference following the Los Angeles Lakers' Game 1 playoff loss to the Portland Trail Blazers to call for justice for Breonna Taylor.
The 26-year-old Taylor, a medical worker, was shot and killed by plain-clothes 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 have repeatedly called attention to the case since their respective seasons commenced play.
James, wearing a 'Make America Great Again' cap customised to read 'Make America arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor', said: "This is something [where] we continue to put our foot on the gas, continue the pressure.
"The situation that has gone on in Louisville, Kentucky, with an innocent woman by the name of Breonna Taylor being killed… a woman who had a bright future and her life was taken away from her.
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"There have been no arrests. There has been no justice, not only for her but for her family. We want to continue to shed light on that situation because it is unjust."
'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.
On the opening weekend of their season, WNBA players wore jerseys with Taylor's name in their games.
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.
Speaking after a Lakers' scrimmage game on July 23, James was asked about his activism and the involvement in the fight for social justice.
"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," he said.
"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."
On Monday, James added his signature to an open letter written by More Than A Vote, a coalition of black athletes and artists whose mission is to "educate, energize and protect" black voters.
The coalition partnered with the Los Angeles Dodgers to use Dodger Stadium as a vote centre for the presidential election in November and is aiming get more arenas and sports facilities in use.
Speaking about the campaign, James said: "We are serious. So serious about what's going on in America, about our communities. About our voters' expression, about just the lack of knowledge, the lack of people who care for them.
"We put a team together to be able to give our communities the resources to let them understand what their rights are.
"There are a lot of people who grew up in the inner city, [who] are afraid to vote because of previous convictions or something that has happened in their life. And they have been lied to for so many years [about] why they can't vote or they don't believe that their vote counts. So they don't even go.
"We want change. We asked for change in our communities. We want the people in our communities to know if we want change, we have to make it ourselves."
