The Heat and Celtics played with heavy hearts after the Breonna Taylor ruling
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron (R) said Wednesday that the officers’ use of force was justified because Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired a weapon first. Walker has disputed that account. Hankison was indicted on three counts of wanton endangerment in the first degree for shooting into a neighboring apartment; the two other officers were not charged with any crimes.
“There’s always a lot of emotion that goes on, and you never actually don’t think about it,” said Jimmy Butler, after the Heat beat the Celtics 112-109 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals to take a 3-1 series lead. “It’s always much bigger than basketball, because that could be anybody. That could be me. That could be any African American. It’s always on my heart because I just think it’s some bull crap. Going into the game, you do have to compete. But at the end of the day, we’re people first, not just athletes.”
Butler and the Heat moved to the brink of the NBA finals thanks to 37 points from backup guard Tyler Herro. Miami’s rookie sensation outdueled Boston’s Jayson Tatum, who scored a team-high 28 points after going scoreless in the first half.
“I kind of felt like we knew what was going to happen,” Tatum said of the grand jury’s ruling, which prompted protests in Louisville on Wednesday night. “Still when it happens, it’s sad. It’s frustrating. It’s been 194 days. There’s still no justice. Still having to fight for the same thing. It’s just a lot to process. It was a tough day, a tough day for all of us.”
Players from both teams had spoken out about Taylor’s killing in recent months, and they wore T-shirts with social justice messages to honor Taylor’s memory on Wednesday. Celtics guard Jaylen Brown wore a shirt that read, “This is not a Black issue. This is a human issue.” Heat center Bam Adebayo’s shirt depicted a Black fist with the words: “I am here.” Other players wore shirts with pro-voting messages.
Brown said that he shared Tatum’s feeling that the police officers would not be charged in relation to Taylor’s death.
“To be honest, I wasn’t surprised by the verdict,” he said. “This society, the way it’s built, is not meant to protect and serve people of color. I knew the wrong decision would be made.”
The NBA playoffs were halted for three days last month when the Milwaukee Bucks decided not to take the court in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis. Play continued Wednesday without talk of a similar shutdown, but the outrage from the players and coaches on both teams was palpable.
“I think it’s some BS that they let that go down like that,” Butler said of the grand jury’s decision. “I think everybody knows what’s supposed to happen. I think everybody knew what was going to happen, unfortunately. But that’s our country for you, to tell you the truth. Very, very sad, man. I hate to see it. We all hate to see it.”
He continued: “I’m no different than anybody else, and if you didn’t know my name, that could be me. It still could be me even when people do know my name. … We are all equal and we just need everybody to see it that way.”
Herro, who is White, told reporters that he had chosen to wear the words “Black Lives Matter” on the back of his jersey throughout the bubble playoffs because a majority of his teammates and fellow NBA players are Black.
“There’s obviously a problem going on in the world,” the 20-year-old Wisconsin native said. “I feel like this stage, with this type of platform, [when I] put that on my jersey, everybody [sees] my last name but they also seen Black Lives Matter on the back. I think that’s important. I think we have to do better in society and keep trying to push forward and Black lives do matter. I just think [the Taylor ruling is] unfortunate. I think money is not justice, and that’s really it.”
The grand jury decision had only been made public for a few hours before Miami Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra and Boston Celtics Coach Brad Stevens addressed the case during their pregame comments.
“It’s not justice,” Spoelstra said. “The $12 million looks like such a ridiculously empty payoff. It’s all about justice, and it was not served. These are unprecedented times, and there’s incredible disappointment and frustration in our locker room, as well there should.”
Stevens questioned why the police officers felt the need to enter the apartment as they did, adding that he felt the charges against Hankison were insufficient.
“To have 15 rounds of gunfire fired, five of which hit her [Cameron said the three officers fired a combined 32 shots, and Taylor was struck six times], and there to be wanton endangerment, which I didn’t know existed before today, as the charge,” Stevens said. “It’s tough. There’s been a call across the country, rightfully so, for more transparency, more accountability, just a better community relationship. Obviously this feels like a setback to that.”
