For the duration of their participation in the NBA’s Orlando restart, many of the league’s players were vocal in their desire to see what they felt was justice for Breonna Taylor.
On Wednesday, Thunder point guard and NBPA President Chris Paul made it clear that he did not feel that justice was served.
After a 194-day investigation into the events that led to the death of Breonna Taylor on March 13, on Wednesday, Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced that two of the three officers involved in the shooting — Myles Cosgrove and Jonathon Mattingly — would not face any charges. The third, Brett Hankison, has since been terminated and will be facing charges for three counts of wanton endangerment for discharging his weapon and firing into the apartment adjacent to Ms. Taylor’s.
For those advocating for justice for Ms. Taylor, the charges were not consistent with their view of justice, Paul included.
CP3 took to his Instagram account to express his frustration.
“We’ve waited 194 days for no justice #JUSTICEFORBREONNATAYLOR,” said a graphic tweeted by Paul to his nearly 10 million Instagram followers shortly after the decision was announced.
Paul’s message was accompanied with a personally written caption: “STILL NO JUSTICE!!! Take your anger to the polls and VOTE! 🗣🗣🗣 #SayHerName #JusticeForBreonnaTaylor,” Paul wrote.
Paul joined several of the NBA’s personnel in expressing frustration with the decision, including LeBron James, who did not address reporters after the Lakers held practice on Wednesday.
“I’ve been lost for words today! I’m devastated, hurt, sad, mad! We want Justice for Breonna yet justice was met for her neighbors apartment walls and not her beautiful life. Was I surprised at the verdict. Absolutely not but damnit I was & still am hurt and heavy hearted!,” James tweeted in part.
my love to Breonna mother, family and
friends! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!! 😔😔🥺🥺😢😢😢😭😭😭— LeBron James (@KingJames) September 24, 2020
When the NBA’s players opted to participate in Orlando, they did so with a focus on attempting to use their platform to advocate for Black Lives Matter and against police brutality, especially that disproportionately impacting the Black community.
The players protested after the shooting of Jacob Blake and now, despite their cries for justice, will have to continue fighting for justice after being on the losing end of their fight for justice for Ms. Taylor.
Deep down inside, with LeBron James by his side, Chris Paul is probably already planning the NBPA’s next move.