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Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins watched a televised interview on Friday of Tyre Nichols’ mother speaking about the loss of her son, and lost control of his emotions.
“I cried,” Jenkins said.
The outrage, frustration, sadness and anger was evident around the NBA on Friday, the day that video was released showing how Nichols, a 29-year-old father, was killed by five Memphis police officers. Several teams released statements of support for the family, as did the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association.
And the emotions around the league were palpable, as has been the case so many times after so many other incidents of violence by police against Black men and women in recent years.
“This is just crazy,” said Miami coach Erik Spoelstra, who opened his pregame news conference Friday by speaking about Nichols before any questions were even asked.
The officers, who are also Black, all face second-degree murder charges, as well as charges of aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression. And the Grizzlies played a game in Minneapolis — the city where George Floyd, a Black man, was killed after a white police officer pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck in an act that sparked protests worldwide over police brutality and racism — on Friday night with heavy hearts.
