Athletes speak out on Wisconsin police shooting. ‘Stop killing unarmed Black people’
Athletes have taken to Twitter on Monday morning to express their outrage over the shooting of a Black man in Wisconsin as he was entering the driver’s side door of an SUV.
A video of the Kenosha Police Department shooting Jacob Blake, 29, in the back sparked heavy backlash and also prompted a state Department of Justice investigation. According to the press release, the police department had responded to a domestic incident when the shooting occurred. According to witnesses, Blake, who is currently in serious condition, was shot in the back as his three sons watched from the vehicle.
Athletes, including NFL and MLB stars, used their platform to speak out about the incident.
Michael Thomas of the New Orleans Saints
Tyrann Mathieu of the Kansas City Chiefs
Jack Flaherty of the St. Louis Cardinals
Cameron Jordan of the New Orleans Saints
Kenny Stills of the Houston Texans
Stills was among the 87 people arrested at a Breonna Taylor protest in Louisville, Kentucky, in July, McClatchy News reported. The felony charge of “intimidating a participant in a legal process” was dropped. Taylor died on March 13 after police in Louisville executed a “no-knock” warrant at her apartment during a narcotics investigation, shooting her at least eight times.
Alvin Kamara of the New Orleans Saints
Donovan Mitchell, a guard for the Utah Jazz, who is currently in the playoffs in the Orlando, Florida NBA bubble, tweeted out that “this is sick and is a real problem” and demanded justice.
NBA superstar LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers also took to Twitter Monday afternoon to demand justice.
“Y’all wonder why we say what we say about the Police!!” James tweeted out. “This s--- is so wrong and sad!! Feel so sorry for him, his family and OUR PEOPLE!! We want JUSTICE.”
Athletes have been protesting police brutality against Black people by kneeling during the national anthem, which has sparked debates across a broad spectrum. It was former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who first took a knee in protest before a preseason NFL game in 2016.
This story was originally published August 24, 2020 at 11:56 AM.