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Toronto Raptors rookie Terence Davis used his media session with reporters on Wednesday to call for the arrests of the police officers that killed Breonna Taylor on March 13 in Louisville, Kentucky.
Taylor, an unarmed 26-year-old Black woman, was shot and killed in her home by police officers Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove. None of three officers have been charged but Hankison was fired by the Louisville Metro Police Department late last month.
Players around the NBA have joined together in calling for action in the death of Taylor since arriving for the season restart at the Walt Disney World Resort. Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris, Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown and Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard are among those drawing attention to the death of Taylor.
Davis, and teammate Serge Ibaka, joined his peers in bringing her death front and center.
We’re united right now. We’re just keeping the focus on Breonna Taylor’s killers. That’s what I want to keep the focus on this week. It’s nothing against you guys — and I can answer all of you guys’ questions post-game or any time after we’re playing — but right now I just want to keep the focus on what’s really going on in the world.
There’s a lot of social injustice going on and I just want to make sure that I’m doing the right thing and using my platform, as well as other athletes, to just continue with this thing, man. We all stand united. We might not all have to be on the same team but we’re still united in this league. I just want to keep the focus on Breonna Taylor’s killers and just keep that going, man, because it’s still going on in the world.
The NBA and NBPA agreed in principle that the goal of the season restart would be to find tangible and sustainable ways to address racial inequality across the country. The NBA has allowed players to inscribe a phrase or message on the back of their jerseys in place of their names to help raise awareness for a social cause or movement.
Additionally, the NBA has added “Black Lives Matter” to each floor design in the three arenas on the campus of Disney that will host NBA games during the season restart. As the NBA and NBPA work to find ways to address racial inequality, the players have stepped up in the meantime and have used their platforms to raise awareness on key issues worldwide.
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