The Tampa Bay Rays’ kicked off their season with a message: arrest Breonna Taylor’s killers
For better or worse, sports are back.
The NBA held scrimmages during the past few days. The MLB had Opening Day on Thursday night. The MLS is in its third week of play.
But in the midst of everything that’s happening on the field, the Tampa Bay Rays used their Opening Day to call for something bigger: justice for Breonna Taylor, a Black woman who died at the hands of Louisville police.
The tweet, which has since racked up more than 160,000 likes, was just the beginning. Two additional tweets followed, one of which acknowledging the existence of systemic racism and the other announcing a $100,000 pledge to ending it.
This comes on the heels of the MLB adjusting its policies so that teams and players can show support for social justice causes. Some of the changes include “Black Lives Matter” patches, a “BLM” stencil on the pitcher’s mound and a temporary repeal of the league’s cleat restriction, allowing players to plaster messages across their feet.
The Rays’ tweet only increases the pressure on Kentucky attorney general Daniel Cameron who has yet to file criminal charges against the three Louisville police officers who shot and killed Taylor more than four months ago.
Serving a no-knock warrant just after midnight on March 13, officers burst into Taylor’s apartment, leading to an exchange of gunfire that left the 26-year-old emergency room technician dead. Police believed the home to be linked to their drug investigation yet no narcotics were found at the residence.
Brett Hankison was the only officer involved in Taylor’s death to be fired. The other two — Jon Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove — were reassigned.
Taylor’s case received renewed interest as people across the country to the streets to protest the death of George Floyd, another African-American who was killed by police. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and several other high-profile individuals have repeatedly called for the officers behind Taylor’s death to be arrest.
This story was originally published July 24, 2020 at 2:02 PM.
