As Jaylen Brown wrapped up his Sunday media availability via Zoom, the Boston Celtics star felt compelled to make a powerful statement before it concluded.
Just two days after the NBA suspended its 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic, Breonna Taylor, 26, was shot multiple times and killed after police broke down the door to her apartment while executing a no-knock warrant on her Louisville home March 13.
And four months later, Brown wants to make sure her story is still being told.
“Before I go, actually, I wanted to speak on Breonna Taylor,” Brown said, via NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg. “I know it’s a hot topic in conversation, I know a lot of people have chimed in and have their thoughts about it. I guess where the line is drawn, or where the outrage kind of comes from is just, you look at the case, you look at since things have been settled down, Louisville has abolished the no-knock warrant, where now you have to knock if you have a warrant, instead of just breaking into somebody’s home. And it happened to be the wrong home with Breonna Taylor.
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“I understand that the protocol and the officers that they have to follow but I think a lot of people’s problem is not just with the officers,” Brown continued. “It’s with the establishment, or the higher-up, or I can’t think of the word right now. But the problem is not just with the officers, it’s with what they’ve been told to do, etcetera. So, obviously, everybody has chimed in on feeling with what they have to say. For somebody to have their home broken into, and not necessarily be the right necessary home, we understand what the protocol is, but I feel like the protocol needs to change, needs to improve. We see the improvements being made but also like continuing to have people speak on these things, continuing to have them talk about them is important. For us, equality is demanded. And Black Lives Matter and Breonna Taylor is an example of a black life who was taken because of how the system has been laid out. And we’re going to continue to protest and continue to feel some type of way about it. It’s unfortunate, but I think these conversations need to continue to be had, for sure.”
Considering one of the NBA’s main priorities amid the restart is its focus on social issues like police brutality and racial inequality, Brown likely will continue to do his part to not let basketball distract from the problems at hand.
