Former NBA player Stephen Jackson says he’ll use his platform and “everything I have to get a conviction” for the four Minneapolis police officers who were fired after George Floyd’s death.
Jackson, like Floyd, is from Houston and said they were friends. The handcuffed black man died after pleading for air as a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck.
That officer, Derek Chauvin, was arrested Friday and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. The charges were announced shortly after Jackson spoke at a news conference organized by activists at Minneapolis City Hall. Actor Jamie Foxx and Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns were among those in attendance.
Towns, the city’s franchise star, stood near Jackson wearing a “Black Lives Matter” hat and a black and white mask. Towns’ mother, Jacqueline, died from the coronavirus on April 13.
Respect! @KarlTowns know you goin through a lot bro! ✊🏾✊🏾💯💯 https://t.co/MEDHocxqyH
— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) May 29, 2020
Other players, including the TImberwolves’ Josh Okogie, were in attendance as well.
“We need each other now more than ever,” Okogie wrote on Instagram. “I am immensely disgusted in the amount of pain and suffering that my fellow black brothers and sisters have to endure until change happens. We can no longer be alienated and we can no longer normalize the injustices that this system of oppression feeds us. No more lives need to be lost.”
Floyd could be heard repeatedly saying “I can’t breathe” in the video. Chauvin had his knee on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes, 46 seconds, including nearly three minutes after Floyd stopped moving and talking, according to the criminal complaint.
The incident sparked outrage among the NBA community.
#JusticeForGeorgeFloyd pic.twitter.com/1HjiwLMB8c
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) May 29, 2020
🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣 https://t.co/ifcJ93TTKZ
— LeBron James (@KingJames) May 29, 2020
Knee on my man neck!!! When does it stop?
— Bradley Beal (@RealDealBeal23) May 27, 2020
JUSTICE WILL NOT BE SERVED UNTIL THOSE UNAFFECTED ARE AS OUTRAGED AS THOSE WHO ARE‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) May 27, 2020
This has been going on for hundreds of years now! And still with little to no change. Got to do better! But how can there be change if the ones with POWER are not willing to listen or do anything about their actions! #BlackLivesMatters
— Zach LaVine (@ZachLaVine) May 30, 2020
1/ What happened to George Floyd is unacceptable and disgusting beyond words . What the officer did should be punished to the fullest extent. How in the world can someone like this be hired to serve and protect us! Praying for George Floyd's family and for all ppl impacted by
— Gordon Hayward (@gordonhayward) May 30, 2020
GEORGE FLOYD. We will never forget you..
— 🏁 Jamal Crawford (@JCrossover) May 28, 2020
“I don’t have no more tears honestly,” Jackson said. “I’ve cried enough. I’ve cried enough. I’m here for one reason. For my brother’s honor.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
