Chris Paul: NBA Players Will Keep Sharing Breona Taylor’s Name, Supporting WNBA

Ashley Landis/Associated Press

Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Chris Paul dropped 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists in a dominant 105-86 upset win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.  

After the game, ESPN’s Rachel Nichols asked Paul how he felt the NBA players’ efforts to take action amid the ongoing social justice movement have been going.

The guard laid out what players have done and will continue to do, including supporting the WNBA and keeping Breonna Taylor’s name in the public’s mind.

Taylor, a Black emergency room technician who lived in Louisville, was shot and killed in March after three Louisville police officers served a no-knock warrant to her apartment, which she lived in with boyfriend Kenneth Walker.

Walker shot at the officers, who were in plainclothes, thinking they were intruders. The cops then shot into the home over 20 times, killing the 26-year-old Taylor.

Darcy Costello of the Louisville Courier-Journal provided more information from Taylor’s attorneys regarding the officers’ actions and why they were there:

“The attorneys representing Breonna Taylor’s family in their lawsuit against Louisville Metro Police say officers provided “false information” in the affidavit used to secure a no-knock search warrant for Taylor’s home.

“… Records show the warrant police used to enter Taylor’s apartment connected her with a narcotics suspect, Jamarcus Glover, who was arrested in a separate raid that night at a house 10 miles away.”

A Louisville detective claimed Taylor was receiving mail for Glover, who he said took a package from Taylor’s apartment to a “known drug house.”

However, postal inspector Tony Gooden told WDRB the Taylor residence had not been receiving “suspicious mail.”

Calls to arrest the three police officers present at Taylor’s apartment that evening have been prevalent nationwide, with many athletes taking up the cause, including Paul and Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell:

NBA players have also increasingly shown support for the WNBA in various ways, including wearing orange WNBA hoodies for their re-opening day and praising the WNBA players for their recent collective bargaining agreement.

Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving also donated $1.5 million to WNBA players sitting out the season due to COVID-19 concerns.

The NBA is holding its restart following a four-and-a-half month suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, which is home to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. One-and-a-half weeks of regular-season play remains before the playoffs, which will run into October.

Teams and players will undoubtedly make their voices heard during that entire stretch, including Paul, whose Thunder have already clinched a playoff berth and will therefore be playing throughout August and potentially beyond.