LeBron James On Breonna Taylor Decision: 'I’m Devastated'
LeBron James expressed his hurt over Twitter after the grand jury decided Wednesday not to to charge Louisville Metro police officers with killing Breonna Taylor.
"I’ve been lost for words today!" James tweeted Wednesday. "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! I send my love to Breonna mother, family and friends! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!!"
Taylor, a 26-year-old Black emergency medical technician, was shot by Louisville Metro Police officers March 13 in her apartment in a botched raid.
On Wednesday, a grand jury indicted a former officer for wanton endangerment. There were no charges filed against the other two officers who shot Taylor. And none of the officers were charged for her death.
Since arriving in the NBA bubble at Walt Disney World in June, James has devoted himself to getting justice for Taylor.
James delivered impassioned comments about Taylor in July, saying he wants the officers who shot her to be arrested.
"It’s fortunate that we had the George Floyd video to see it," James said of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man who died May 25 after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes in Minneapolis. "I mean, is that what we need to see a video of Breonna being killed to realize how bad the situation is?"
James texted his teammates Wednesday morning to let them know that a ruling was coming in Taylor's case as they were headed to a team meeting.
James didn't speak to the media Wednesday. But after Lakers practice, both Danny Green and Alex Caruso expressed their displeasure with the grand jury's decision.
"The results of what happened is not significant enough, not harsh enough in the eyes of people that are fighting for justice for Breonna Taylor," Caruso said.
Green, who has mentioned Taylor's name before each interview inside the NBA bubble at Walt Disney World, echoed that sentiment.
"It's a disappointment," Green said. "We feel like we've taken a step back, that we haven't made the progress we were seeking. Our voices aren't being heard loud enough. But we're not going to stop. We're going to continue. We're going to continue fighting."
