George Floyd Death: Stephen Jackson Mourns Losing 'Twin'; Kerr, Curry Voice Outrage
(CBS SF) – Former Golden State Warriors star Stephen Jackson mourned the loss of his friend George Floyd, whose death in police custody in Minneapolis has sparked national outrage.
Floyd, 46, died Monday night after being pinned to the ground while handcuffed with an officer's knee on his neck. Video of the incident showed Floyd pleading that he could not breathe while the officer remained kneeling on his neck. Four police officers have since been fired.
Jackson, who was part of the 2007 "We Believe" Warriors team, said he grew up with Floyd in the same neighborhood in Houston, Texas.
"Floyd was my brother, man," Jackson said in an Instagram post on Tuesday. "We called each other 'Twin,' bruh. Everybody know me and Floyd called each other 'Twin.' My brother was only out there in Minnesota, he was changing his life, he went to Minnesota, he was driving trucks. I just sent him two, three boxes of clothes. My boy was doing what he was supposed to do, man, and y'all go kill my brother, man."
Jackson went on to say he intended to travel to Minnesota.
Members of the Warriors family joined other figures in the sports world in expressing their outrage over Floyd's death on social media. Golden State coach Steve Kerr tweeted, "This is murder. Disgusting. Seriously, what the hell is wrong with US????"
This is murder. Disgusting. Seriously, what the hell is wrong with US???? https://t.co/wesEwd4Bb2
— Steve Kerr (@SteveKerr) May 26, 2020
Warriors superstar Steph Curry posted on Instagram, "George has a family. George didn't deserve to die. George pleaded for help and was just straight up ignored, which speaks loud and clear that his black life didn't matter. George was murdered. George wasn't human to that cop that slowly and purposefully took his life away."
NBA superstar LeBron James posted to his Instagram Tuesday invoking former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's protest of police brutality and racial injustice saying "This….Is Why."