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Jaylen Brown: All I See When I Wear No. 7 Is Jacob Blake Being Shot 7 Times
August 25, 2020
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown discussed the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during a press conference that also saw him call for justice for Breonna Taylor and encourage people to vote in November's election.
Jared Weiss of The Athletic shared Brown's comments in which he said, "I wear No. 7 and now when I look at my jersey, all I see is a Black man being shot seven times in the back."
Weiss passed along more of Brown's statement, in which he also said Blake's "kids will never unsee that. His family will never unsee that. And frankly, I will never unsee it":
Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBAJaylen Brown's speech on the American misnomer of eschewing human rights to qualify police brutality on the basis of the victim's past, especially for Black people. "His kids will never unsee that. His family will never unsee that. And frankly, I will never unsee it." https://t.co/hfl82C3H9g
Brown also took to Twitter, expressing his desire to protest:
Malika Andrews and Tim Bontemps of ESPN reported the Toronto Raptors, who are scheduled to face Brown's Celtics in the second round, held a team meeting and discussed potentially boycotting Thursday's Game 1. Brown's teammate Marcus Smart also said Celtics players have discussed not playing, per Yahoo Sports' Keith Smith.
Brown has been a public advocate for social justice and the fight against systemic racism and police brutality. He drove 15 hours to protest following the killing of George Floyd by police in May:
Bleacher Report @BleacherReportJaylen Brown drove 15 hours today to peacefully protest in Atlanta. "Being a celebrity, being an NBA player don't exclude me from no conversations at all. ... We're raising awareness for some of the injustices that we've been seeing. It's not ok.” (via @FCHWPO) https://t.co/VABgXUu7cd
He also told reporters he believes the phrase "domestic terrorism" should be used instead of "police brutality."
Brown is far from the only one in the NBA to react to the police shooting of Blake, as LeBron James told reporters, "Quite frankly, it's just f--ked up in our community ... We are scared as Black people in America. Black men, Black women, Black kids, we are terrified."
James also tweeted "And y'all wonder why we say what we say about the Police!! Someone please tell me WTF is this???!!! Exactly another black man being targeted. This s--t is so wrong and so sad!! Feel so sorry for him, his family and OUR PEOPLE!! We want JUSTICE."
Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell reacted as well:
Per CNN's Leah Asmelash, video of police shooting Blake seven times in the back as he approached a car circulated across social media. Blake's father, Jacob Sr., said his son is in intensive care and suffering from paralysis from the waist down.