With the fate of the police officers involved in the killing of Breonna Taylor recently sealed, Miami Heat duo Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler were given an opportunity to speak out about the same following Wednesday night's Game 4 victory over the Boston Celtics.
The grand jury's recent decision to indict just one officer in Taylor's case caused an uproar throughout the nation. Several NBA personalities have already voiced out their disappointment with the ruling, and it was the same case for both Adebayo and Butler.
Adebayo, who finished the win with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting, with 12 boards, four assists, and two steals, said after the game that he had Taylor in mind throughout the contest:
Bam Adebayo dedicates tonight’s Heat win to Breonna Taylor, says he tried to channel his anger into tonight’s game.
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) September 24, 2020
For his part, Jimmy Butler had a stronger message to send:
“Very, very sad. I hate to see it. Everyone hates to see it,” #Heat star @JimmyButler on Breonna Taylor news that he also described as “BS.” Butler says “it’s always much bigger than the sport because that can be me and that can be any African-American.”
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) September 24, 2020
Butler himself was outstanding against Boston, logging 24 points on 8-of-20 from the field, with nine rebounds, three dimes, a steal, and a block. However, the All-Star swingman made it abundantly clear that he believes issues such as this are much bigger than basketball.
For Butler, he wants to continue to fight for equality:
“We are all equal no matter what. No matter the color of your skin. We just need everyone else to feel that way,” @JimmyButler said.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) September 24, 2020
It's commendable how Adebayo, Butler, and the rest of the NBA has spoken so openly about how frustrated they are with the recent grand jury decision. Not everyone will agree with their stance, but there's no denying that they are making good use of their platform to voice their opinions on the socio-political sphere. Clearly, the era of the “shut up and dribble” players are already long extinct.
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