Jalen Rose made it clear he wants justice for Breonna Taylor. During the halftime show of ESPN‘s coverage of the Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat Game 4 Eastern Conference Finals matchup, Rose shouted out his thoughts on the Taylor ruling right before they went to commercial. On Wednesday afternoon, a grand jury in Kentucky made the decision to not directly charge the three officers involved in the shooting of Taylor, a 25-year old Black woman from Kentucky.
“It’d also be a great day to arrest the cops that murdered Breonna Taylor,” Rose shouted as they wear heading into a commercial break. That wasn’t the first time Rose spoke on the ruling. Before the game, the former NBA star talked about the issues going on in the country and what needs to be done in order to move forward.
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“It’d also be a great day to ARREST THE COPS THAT MURDERED BREONNA TAYLOR”@JalenRose not holding back 🗣
(via @gifdsports) pic.twitter.com/lbzooAycI0
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) September 24, 2020
“When Kyle Rittenhouse in Milwaukee, as a 17-year-old, kills two people and yet three cops aren’t directly charged for killing Breonna Taylor, it shows you how they feel about Black lives in America,” Rose said. “So what I want to encourage people to do out there … my favorite sport actually is football. The important thing in that game is field position. So we are starting a game … it’s 400 years of slavery to 0. We know we’re not going to win, but we still got to continue to move the ball forward and put people behind you in a position to be successful.”
“While [NBA players] are out there … trying to win a championship, I understand that this is really painful to show up to work and still try to entertain.”
—@JalenRose pic.twitter.com/CzBAjyeRAj
— ESPN (@espn) September 24, 2020
Rose also wasn’t the only notable NBA figure to speak out on the decision as LeBron James took to Twitter to express his anger. “I’ve been lost for words today!” James wrote. “I’m devastated, hurt, sad, mad! We want Justice for Breonna yet justice was met for her neighbor’s 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!” Taylor was shot by three officers – Brett Hankison, Jonathan Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove – after entering her home on a no-knock warrant. The officers suspected Taylor’s ex-boyfriend was keeping drugs and money in her apartment, but no drugs or money were found after an investigation.
