‘These Are the Charges You Actually Come up With?’: Pro Basketball Stars React to Breonna Taylor Indictment

Breonna Taylor
Getty Images/Brandon Bell
Warner Todd Huston

Many pro athletes took to their social media to vent outrage at the charges handed down in the Breonna Taylor case in Louisville, Kentucky on Wednesday.

The athletes are furious that only one officer was charged in the case. Already fired officer Brett Hankison was charged on Wednesday for firing his weapon into the apartment of Taylor’s neighbor. But what angered the players was that there were no charges for any of the officers specifically for Taylor’s death. Neither Hankison nor the other two officers on the scene during the Taylor shooting were charged with anything concerning her death.

Many of the players that have spoken out about the indictment sided with protesters who claim that the lack of charges is a travesty of justice.

Utah Jazz, and former Louisville player, Donovan Mitchell was shocked by the charges and took to Twitter to say he is praying for the city:

L.A. Clippers power forward, Montrezl Harrell, said he was “speechless” over the news:

DeMarcus Cousins, who once played for the Kentucky Wildcats, accused prosecutors of giving only a “slap on the wrist” for “murder”:

Brooklyn Nets guard Jamal Crawford also felt that Taylor was murdered:

Meanwhile, former Boston Celtics and current unsigned free agent Isaiah Thomas seemed to claim that the fix was in from the beginning:

The always outspoken Steve Kerr, coach of the Golden State Warriors, exclaimed that the charge was “demoralizing.”

“It’s so demoralizing,” Kerr said “It’s so discouraging. I just keep thinking about the generation of American kids of any color. Is this way the way we want to raise them? Is this the country we want to live in?”

According to Malika Andrews, Nuggets coach Michael Malone said the charges were not justice:

One-time WNBA star Skylar Diggins fired off a single word:

Another WNBA player, Lexie Brown, insisted that black women are more at risk than anyone. After calling the charges “disappointing and sad,” Brown tweeted out several posts on the issue:

WNBA player Layshia Clarendon claimed that the lack of charges proves the need to “defund the police”:

Former Baltimore Ravens player Torrey Smith tweeted that he knew there would never be “justice.”

More athletes will be venting their feelings as the hours pass, you can be sure.

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