Courtesy: NBA, Marca
On April 20, a jury found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of second-degree unintended murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter for his participation in Floyd’s death outside a local convenience store last May.
Last summer, the death of Floyd, a Black man, and the video that showed Chauvin, a white man, kneeling on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes sparked the sports world’s racial and social justice movement, leading to the founding of the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition.
On the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s death, the NBA’s social justice coalition issued a statement urging the United States Senate to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in order to memorialize Floyd and “those who have been victims of police violence.”
The coalition, which was formed in November after a season in which activism and social justice issues were at the forefront of the NBA bubble at Walt Disney World, urged senators to pass the broad legislation in order to “honour the memory of Mr. Floyd,” who was murdered last year by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
Carmelo Anthony, Avery Bradley, Sterling Brown, Donovan Mitchell, and Karl-Anthony Towns are among the coalition’s members, as are several franchise owners, including Micky Arison, Steve Ballmer, Clay Bennett, Marc Lasry, and Vivek Ranadive. Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers and former NBA coach Lloyd Pierce are also part of the coalition, as are NBA commissioner Adam Silver, NBPA executive director Michele Roberts and NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum.
Among other things, the bill would change qualified immunity for police officers, making it easier to prosecute them, put new constraints on the use of deadly force, and prohibit no-knock warrants.
The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, on the other hand, is unlikely to be passed in its current form. It passed primarily along party lines in the House and would require 60 votes to pass in the divided Senate. President Joe Biden has publicly supported the bill and urged Congress to adopt it by Tuesday, the anniversary of Floyd’s death.
“As members of the NBA family, we will continue to use our influence to support common-sense policy reform in our communities across the nation so that equal justice is afforded to all,” the coalition said.
On behalf of the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition, James Cadogan, the Coalition’s Executive Director, released the following statement: pic.twitter.com/4RHu9zryQA
— NBA (@NBA) May 25, 2021