Wesley Matthews on No Charges in Jacob Blake Case: 'Truly, It's Disheartening'

Los Angeles Lakers guard Wesley Matthews spoke out against the decision by Kenosha County prosecutors not to press charges against any of the police officers involved in the Jacob Blake shooting last August.

Matthews addressed the situation while speaking to reporters after Tuesday's game against the Memphis Grizzlies:

"Truly, it's disheartening. It's just about right and wrong. But ... it can't deter those citizens who are trying to do right, who are trying to fight for equality, who are trying to fight for the right things. It can't deter us. We can't lose our heads; we can't start rioting; we have to be calculated; we have to continue to keep our foot on the pedal; we have to continue to keep our foot on the gas.

"This is lives. These are lives right here. It's upsetting as a Wisconsinite. It's upsetting as a human being that justice isn't justice. It's tough. But it can't knock us off our path that we're trying to get to, which is equality and just simply right and wrong."

Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, was shot in the back seven times by police officers in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Aug. 23. Blake's father, Jacob Blake Sr., told Clare Proctor of the Chicago Sun-Times his son was paralyzed from the waist down.

Kenosha County district attorney Michael Graveley announced Tuesday that no charges would be filed against officers Rusten Sheskey, who shot Blake, and Vincent Arenas.

Graveley said Sheskey's use of force was justified because Blake was armed with a knife and "evidence shows Sheskey fired in self-defense."

Before joining the Lakers as a free agent in December, Matthews spent the 2019-20 season with the Milwaukee Bucks. He was part of the team's decision to protest NBA playoff games in the aftermath of Blake's shooting.

In addition to his time with the Bucks, Matthews grew up in Wisconsin and played college basketball in Milwaukee at Marquette University from 2005 to 2009.