NBA, NFL players express disgust at suprising Breonna Taylor Grand Jury decision

Athletes across the United States have expressed their frustration about Wednesday's Kentucky Grand Jury decision in regards to the death of Breonna Taylor. Surprising to most, the jury decided to not move forward with charges of murder against any of the police officers involved in the shooting. Instead, the jury indicted just one police officer, Brett Hankison, with three counts of wanton endangerment in connection to the police raid that killed Breonna Taylor on March 13. While the details of the charges are yet to be revealed, the bond for Hankison was set at $15,000.

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This comes just a week after a $12 million civil settlement was reached between Taylor's estate and the city of Louisville. For most, the outcome of the settlement suggested the officers would be found guilty of wrongfully barging into Breonna Taylor and then shooting her to death. However, much to everyone's surprise, the jury declared the officers were justified to protect themselves in the shooting, which inadvertently led to the death of Taylor. 

“According to Kentucky law, the use of force by Officers (Jonathan) Mattingly and (Myles) Cosgrove was justified to protect themselves,” state Attorney General Daniel Cameron said in a press conference after the judgement. "This justification bars us from pursuing criminal charges in Miss Breonna Taylor’s death.” Cameron further said the officers did not use a no-knock warrant to enter Taylor's apartment since they announced themselves before entering.

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NBA, NFL, WNBA stars blast Breonna Taylor ruling

The skewed Breonna Taylor jury decision has caused a major unrest in Kentucky, with protesters taking the streets of Louisville to voice their disapproval of the jury decision. Numerous athletes across the major sports leagues in the US have flocked to social media to express the disgust at the judgement. WNBA star Layshia Clarendon ranted about how the system itself is designed to protect the people who are oppressing the minority communities in the country:

NBA veteran Jamal Crawford was surprised to see how the cops were found guilty of doing everything wrong except the "murder of Breonna Taylor." 

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, who has actively used his social media platform to bring awareness to the social injustice issues in the US, said he was "devastated" to learn the Kentucky Grand Jury. LeBron claimed justice was only served for the apartment wall of her neighbour instead of the victim.

Golden State Warriors HC Steve Kerr on the "demoralising" jury decision in Breonna Taylor murder:

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Donovan Mitchell, Davontae Harris, DeMarcus Cousins, Montrezl Harris, Sue Bird and several others expressed their disappointment with the verdict:

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After securing a 3-1 lead over Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals, Jimmy Butler described the verdict as total bulls**t as he claimed he was extremely said to her the news. 

His Heat teammate, Bam Adebayo dedicated Wednesday's 112-109 win to Breonna Taylor:

(Image Credits: AP, Official Twitter Handles of Athletes)