The National Basketball Association issued a public statement on Tyre Nichols Friday night.
Body camera footage of a senseless beating that Nichols took at the hands of police officers in Memphis, Tennessee, a beating he tragically did not survive, was shared publicly on Friday night. The incident occurred on January 7 at a traffic stop. The footage on the video lasted 11 minutes.
The video, which has been withheld from this post, “has been described by law enforcement and attorneys for Nichols’ family as ‘absolutely appalling,’ ‘alarming,’ and ‘unconscionable,’ according to Katherine Burgess of The Commercial Appeal.
The NBA released a statement following the footage’s public sharing.
That statement read, “The images of Tyre Nichols’ life needlessly cut short are horrifying. While there have been steps toward accountability in this instance, the NBA family remains committed to partnering with advocates, policymakers and law enforcement to work toward solutions to the issues we continue to face. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Mr. Nichols, the entire Memphis community and those who are affected by these tragic images and loss.”
NBA and WNBA players publicly protested police brutality in 2020.
A verified GoFundMe for the Tyre Nichols Memorial Fund was created earlier this month. If you would like to donate to it or share the page, click here.
[NBA]
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022