NBA players take to Twitter to show their admiration for the fact that Derek Chauvin has been convicted for George Floyd’s murder.
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The NBA prides itself in being one of the most ‘woke’ sporting leagues in the world. Not only does the NBA make sure that they get the word across about significant matters such as ‘Stop Asian Hate’ and ‘Black Lives Matter’, but the players that play within the league are also extremely vocal when it comes to these things.
With civil unrest reaching an all-time high last year due to the unjust murder of George Floyd, players such as LeBron James and George Hill took to social media to denounce Derek Chauvin, the disgraced police officer who held his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly 9 minutes and 29 seconds.
The NBA centered their 2020 NBA Bubble experience around the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement while stars like LeBron James continued to preach the same, throughout the entirety of the Playoffs.
LeBron James and the NBA reacts to the Derek Chauvin conviction
Chauvin killed an unarmed man in plain sight, so obviously the public demanded some form of judicial retribution. This finally came, nearly a year following the death of George Floyd, as on April 20th, 2021, the court ruled Derek Chauvin guilty on all 3 counts.
These counts include: intentional 2nd degree murder, 3rd degree murder, and 2nd degree manslaughter. Chauvin will appear before a sentencing court in 8 weeks’ time, following which he will likely go through the appeals process.
The NBA world rejoiced after hearing of this, as Twitter exploded with players taking to the social media platform to express their gratitude. LeBron James led the charge by simply writing in all caps, “ACCOUNTABILITY”.
ACCOUNTABILITY
— LeBron James (@KingJames) April 20, 2021
Justice and Accountability! Things I never thought I would see. There’s much more work to do, but this is an amazing start working toward the reform this country NEEDS!
— Karl-Anthony Towns (@KarlTowns) April 20, 2021
Justice. ✊🏻✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿
— Kevin Love (@kevinlove) April 20, 2021
Other players such as Jamal Crawford said that this is just step one in the right direction and that there is plenty more progress that needs to be done.
But the fact we all saw what we saw last year, and STILL were nervous about if he would be held accountable, shows how far we have to go…
— 🏁 Jamal Crawford (@JCrossover) April 20, 2021
The NBA themselves released this statement regarding Derek Chauvin’s conviction:
“George Floyd’s murder was a flash point for how we look at race and justice in our country, and we are pleased that justice appears to have been served.”
