No, ESPN did not cut off Jalen Rose’s Breonna Taylor message
Jalen Rose has been delivering social justice messages during ESPN broadcasts throughout the postseason, and he continued with that during Wednesday night’s game between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat. There has been some talk that ESPN cut his remarks short, but that did not happen.
Just before a commercial break during halftime of Game 4, Rose mentioned how well Heat rookie Tyler Herro was playing. He then raised his voice and shouted that it would be a “great day to arrest the cops that murdered Breonna Taylor!”
.@JalenRose with an important halftime message #BreonnaTaylor pic.twitter.com/7rzLbUAO35
— The Undefeated (@TheUndefeated) September 24, 2020
David Aaro of FOX News watched the clip and was left with the impression that Rose had his comments “cut short” by ESPN. That was not the case. Rose often provides commentary just before commercial breaks. It’s usually about basketball, but lately he has been using that time to share his thoughts on the social justice movement. Here’s another recent example:
“Without Black lives, America wouldn’t matter.” – @JalenRose pic.twitter.com/ySh6tlmWby
— The Undefeated (@TheUndefeated) September 20, 2020
Earlier on Wednesday, a Kentucky grand jury indicted one of three police officers involved in the Louisville drug operation that led to the death of Taylor. No other officers were charged. Rose and many others were upset, and Rose said before the Celtics-Heat game that he wanted to dress nicely in case he said something that got him fired.
"While [NBA players] are out there … trying to win a championship, I understand that this is really painful to show up to work and still try to entertain."
—@JalenRose pic.twitter.com/CzBAjyeRAj
— ESPN (@espn) September 24, 2020
Some were bothered that Rose used the word “murdered” instead of “killed,” as there is a legal distinction between the two. The charges in the Taylor case are wanton endangerment, which is a separate charge from murder. The latter would imply that police went to the house Taylor was staying in with the intent of killing her. According to police reports, Taylor’s boyfriend Kenneth Walker fired at an officer and police returned fire, killing Taylor in the process.
LeBron James and several other NBA players also shared their thoughts on Thursday’s ruling.