In his Wednesday press availability in Orlando, Los Angeles Lakers point guard Alex Caruso took the opportunity to respond to all basketball questions by saying “We need justice for Breonna Taylor.”
Alex Caruso is answering any basketball questions today by saying "we need justice for Breonna Taylor."
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) July 22, 2020
Alex Caruso spoke the importance of remaining focused on that conversation, especially during the NBA restart.
"It's such an important time in the world and in a lot of our lives to be able to create change and impact change. It starts with getting justice for Breonna."
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) July 22, 2020
Caruso joins the list of several NBA players declining to answer questions and instead asking for justice for Taylor. The Denver Nuggets’ Jerami Grant was the first to do so and has been followed by the likes of the Philadelphia 76ers’ Tobias Harris and the Boston Celtics’ Marcus Smart.
On March 13th, Taylor, a Black woman, was shot and killed by three Louisville police officers asleep in her own bed when they entered the wrong home looking for someone who had already been taken into police custody. More than four months later, none of the three officers have been arrested and only one has been fired from his position.
Taylor’s case has been one of several recent similar injustices that have helped to spark an extended protest movement under the Black Lives Matter umbrella asking for justice for innocent Black people killed by the police.
Caruso has already announced that he will wear “Black Lives Matter” on his jersey in place of his name, citing the importance of being an ally and setting an example as a prominent white player in the league.
