Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott calls ruling in Breonna Taylor case ‘disgusting’
CORRECTION: CORRECTION: Circumstances and details surrounding the police shootings were incorrect in the original version. Breonna Taylor was shot by Louisville, Kentucky, police officers who were executing a search warrant. A former officer was indicted Wednesday in the shooting. Also, Jacob Blake was paralyzed after he was shot seven times in the back by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott didn’t hold back when asked for his reaction to the news that police officers in Louisville, Kentucky, were not charged in the death of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman who was fatally shot by police officers during a raid on her apartment.
On Wednesday, the Jefferson County grand jury indicted one officer for “wanton endangerment” for blindly shooting 10 rounds from outside Taylor’s apartment. However, there were no charges related to the death of Taylor, a 26-year-old ER technician who was fatally shot while police were executing a search warrant, according to the multiple media accounts of the incident.
Taylor’s boyfriend, fearing his home was being broken into, fired at who he believed were intruders, wounding one officer. Three officers on the scene responded with more than 32 shots, at least six of which hit Taylor. The two other officers on the scene who fired were not charged.
“That is disgusting,” Prescott said. “I don’t understand that one at all. There are a lot of things in this country I don’t understand that we are looking at right now. That is simply unacceptable. Don’t understand an officer not being charged.”
The case has been another lightning rod in the renewed social justice movement that erupted in the wake of George Floyd, who was killed in May while in police custody in Minneapolis. Since then, the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man who was paralyzed after he was shot seven times in the back by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, has increased the national angst regarding police brutality against people of color.
The lack of charges against the other two officers and the fact that no one was charged for causing Taylor’s death has brought scorn from across the sports landscape, from Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, to former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (who initially brought awareness to police brutality by taking a knee during the national anthem in 2016), to Megan Rapinoe, captain of the U.S. women’s national soccer team, to Prescott’s teammate, wide receiver Amari Cooper.
“It is definitely something that has been on my heart and crossed my mind,” Cooper said. “I am not surprised by the (decision). It has been happening over and over. My heart goes out to her and her family.”
Prescott said the Cowboys are trying to fight the battle by emphasizing the need for people to register to vote and participate in all elections. The players issued a get-out-the-vote social media challenge to the Seattle Seahawks in advance of Sunday’s game.
“It’s about us educating ourselves, about us getting registered to vote and going out there and doing that,” Prescott said. “And making sure that we’re educated on who we’re voting for, and what they’re going to do while they’re in office.” Prescott said he feels one of the most important things the players can do as a team is “for our voices to be heard throughout our community and to be leaders there.”
Prescott’s strong words on the Taylor decision come roughly three months after he pledged $1 million to “improve our police training and address systemic racism through education and advocacy” in response to Floyd’s death. On May 25, Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, put a knee on the back of Floyd’s neck for eight minutes, 46 seconds, sparking demonstrations and outrage around the world.
Prescott posted a lengthy statement on his Instagram account on June 3.
“As a Black Multiracial American, I am disgusted and unsettled!” Prescott wrote. “To be humble and to see every man and woman as the same takes humility and accountability.
“AS OUR COMMUNITIES TAKE ACTION, PROTESTING AND FIGHTING FOR THE JUSTICE OF GEORGE FLOYD AND EVERY BLACK LIFE, I AM WITH YOU!”
While Prescott expressed respect for police, the Cowboys quarterback also asked them to change.
“I have the utmost respect for those of you with a passion for protecting and serving your communities,” Prescott wrote. “When you chose to wear the badge of a police officer, you pledged to PROTECT life and property through the enforcement of our laws and regulations. How can you claim to uphold the law when those within your ranks don’t abide by it? You need to hold your own accountable. Each of you are as guilty as the men who stood beside Derek Chauvin if you do not stand up against the systemic racism plaguing our police forces nationwide. TAKE ACTION!”
Now, he is disgusted.
This story was originally published September 24, 2020 at 4:52 PM.
