Getty Free agent forward Tobias Harris
Philadelphia 76ers forward, Tobias Harris was asked about the NBPA partnering with Houston Rockets All-Star Russell Westbrook and his clothing line for social justice t-shirts. He did not want to talk about that particular subject today.
76ers’ Tobias Harris wants the cops who murdered Breonna Taylor to be arrested.
“Nothing against the t-shirts, but we want to make sure that [Kentucky attorney general] Daniel Cameron arrests the cops and the officers involved with Breonna Taylor’s death. And yeah, that’s all i got to say.”
“That’s going to be my answer for every question. For Daniel Cameron to step up to do what’s right and that’s the only message I got today. Appreciate everybody, thanks”
Breonna Taylor, 26, was an emergency room technician who was killed on March 13 by Louisville police. Of the three officers involved, Brett Hankison is the only one that has been fired. The other two officers, Jon Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove were placed on administrative reassignment. None of the police officers have been criminal charged.
Tobias Harris joins other NBA players like the Denver Nuggets’ Jerami Grant who are using their voices to speak up about Breonna Taylor. “It’s great to be here with my teammates, great to be back playing basketball but for me personally, and I think a lot of players, it’s imperative that we focus on what is really important in the world,” said Grant.
“One thing for me is Breonna Taylor’s killers are still roaming around free, so I want to focus on that with these interviews and things like that. I want to keep the focus there.”
“The people who did the heinous incident against her are still free,” Los Angeles Lakers center, Dwight Howard said last week.
“They’re out there living their best life, and I think, instead of worrying about if I have my mask on or not, I think that’s something that we should be discussing. Why haven’t these people been brought in? Why haven’t they’ve been charged with anything, or even arrested for what they’ve done? So, instead of the topics being about, you know, who’s not wearing the mask in the bubble, who was at the DJ party, who wasn’t — all these things seem entertaining, but we’re not going to forget about what’s going on around our world.”
The coronavirus pandemic halted NBA play on March 11 and the league will resume play on July 30 at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
22 NBA Teams will compete to fill the league’s 16-NBA playoff spots in both the NBA’s Eastern and Western Conferences with the NBA Finals expected to finish no later than October 13. Led by the trio of Harris, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, the Philadelphia 76ers are currently in sixth place in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.
Many experts like ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith and NBA Hall of Famer turned TNT analyst pegged the Sixers as a preseason favorite to make a trip to the 2020 NBA Finals.
Tobias Harris is the vocal leader of the Sixers particularly when it comes to civil rights and African American History.
Before the Sixers’ 117-111 win over the Brooklyn Nets on January 17, Harris addressed the Wells Fargo Center about the impact of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his legacy. “It’s so many African-Americans that have done remarkable things and a lot of inventions that don’t get credit for it,” Harris told me earlier this year.
“Those things aren’t taught. You have to go out there and seek them for yourself. The more I think of it, it’s a very true thing.”