‘I Use These Shoes As A Symbol To Keep Fighting’: When Jamal Murray Opened Up About Police Brutality In The US Following Tragic Incidents Against George Floyd And Jacob Blake

Jamal Murray

Last year, the USA went through an emotionally charged time following the losses of George Floyd and Jacob Blake, something Jamal Murray spoke up on.

George Floyd was murdered by a police officer on May 25th, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Jacob Blake was left in critical condition after a police officer shot him seven times in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

As the cases of police brutality continued to surge in the US following incidents against Breonna Taylor, Daunte Wright, and countless others, players moved to withhold from playing in games, going on strike temporarily in the Orlando bubble last year.

Things weren’t easy to adjust to at the time, and so even when play resumed a few days later, emotions still ran high, and Jamal Murray didn’t shy away from expressing them.

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Jamal Murray Had An Emotional Post Game Interview Following 50 Point Ouburst In Game Six Win

The Nuggets were matched up with the Utah Jazz in the first round of the Western Conference Finals last year, one of the most entertaining series of that round.

The Nuggets won the first game before the Jazz took the next three, taking a commanding and seemingly insurmountable 3-1 lead in the series. However, Murray would come through big time in the next two elimination games, scoring 42 points in a 129-127 victory in game five before dropping 50 in a 119-107 game six victory.

After the game, Murray was overcome by emotions as he knew that his 50 points were coming off of a very tumultuous time for the black community in the US.

The string of polic brutality cases had shaken people, and it was difficult to get back to normal life, much less playing in a basketball game. Murray’s shoes had pictures of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd on them as well, reminding him of the injustices and giving him the strength to keep pushing and fighting every day to make a difference.

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Post Edited By: Ashish Priyadarshi
Basketball Denver Nuggets jamal murray NBA

About the author

Ashish Priyadarshi

Ashish Priyadarshi is The SportsRush's content manager and editor. Ashish freelanced for 1 year in the NFL division before taking on an editorial role in the company. He then tacked on managing content while adding on a writing role in the NBA division. Ashish has been closely following the NFL and NBA since the 2012 season when the Patriots lost the Super Bowl and Derrick Rose was at the height of his powers. Since then, Ashish has focused on honing his knowledge for both leagues in, even writing crossover pieces. In his free time, Ashish is an avid basketball player, he loves to watch movies and TV shows, immersing himself in the cinematic world. Ashish studies computer science and data science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and would love to mesh his love for sports with his technical skills.

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