Suns forward Oubre protests Floyd death
Several NBA players have participated in protests in reaction to the death of George Floyd.
Kelly Oubre Jr. is proudly one of them.
The Phoenix Suns forward posted photos on his Instagram account Friday showing him holding up a cardboard sign that read, “I’m here for 911 reasons. My soul has no skin,” with #GeorgeFloyd hashtag and “Never Forget” written in silver marker.
Below read a caption, “I’m here for CHANGE. #CantShhhh.”
The city of Phoenix has seen protests for more than a week in reaction to the deaths of Floyd in Minnesota and Dion Johnson, a 28-year-old man who died after being shot in Phoenix by an Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper on Memorial Day.
Floyd, a black man, died on Memorial Day after being pinned down by Derek Chauvin, a white Minnesota police officer whose initial third-degree murder charge has been moved up to seconddegree murder.
Chauvin has also been charged with second-degree manslaughter and been fired along with three other Minneapolis Police Department officers present when Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck. J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and
Tou Thao are facing charges as well.
Floyd’s death has led to a global outcry for justice and change and many NBA players like Oubre are joining protests:
Stephen Curry (Golden State), Damian Lillard (Portland), Trae Young (Atlanta), Jaylen Brown (Boston), Malcolm Brogdon (Indiana), Tobias Harris (Philadelphia), Marcus Smart (Boston), Terry Rozier (Charlotte), Jordan Clarkson (Utah), Udonis Haslem (Miami), Enes Kanter (Boston), Lonnie Walker IV (San Antonio) Jordan Poole (Golden State).
Former Suns player Jamal Crawford has also participated in protests.
“If George Floyd was a white guy, and that officer was a black guy, and that black officer had his knee on his neck for nine minutes, how would you feel?” Crawford said on The JJ Redick Pocast with Tommy Alter.
Crawford and Redick were teammates with the Los Angeles Clippers. Redick is now with the New Orleans Pelicans.
“So it’s just about putting yourself in somebody else’s shoes before actually judging the reaction to what’s happening,” Crawford said.
Earlier this week, Suns coach Monty Williams and backup center Aron Baynes each wrote “an open letter” posted through the organization calling for change in America.