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Breonna Taylor judgement: LeBron James to Megan Rapinoe, athletes express 'disappointment' at grand jury decision

The grand jury in Louisville indicted one police officer for shooting into the neighboring apartments. One of the officers, Brett Hankison was charged with counts of wanton endangerment

In August 2020, Jacob Blake's shooting in Kenosha sent shockwaves across the sporting world. Multiple games across various sports were called off as a sign of protest. With the recent news of the grand jury's decision on Wednesday, September 23, to not move forward with charges against any of the officers for their role in Breonna Taylor's death athletes have once again voiced their frustration.

One of them was Los Angeles Lakers' star LeBron James who took to Twitter saying, "The most DISRESPECTED person on earth is THE BLACK WOMAN! I promise you I’ll do my best to change this as much as I can and even more!! LOVE to you QUEENS all over this country and beyond!" This was followed by more sports figures who took to social media to express their thoughts. WNBA star, Sue Bird wrote, "Disappointed & disgusted. My heart goes out to Ms. Tamika Palmer & the rest of Breonna’s family #JusticeforBreonnaTalyor Please vote! Everyone!"  

"My heart is with the family of Breonna Taylor right now. My god. This is devastating and unfortunately not surprising. Black and brown folx in this country deserve so much more. #BlackLivesMatter #JusticeforBreonnaTalyor #DefundPolice #RegisterToVote" said American soccer player Megan Rapinoe. Colin Kaepernick called to "abolish the police" in his tweet that read "The white supremacist institution of policing that stole Breonna Taylor’s life from us must be abolished for the safety and well being of our people. #BreonnaTaylor #SayHerName #AbolishThePolice."

The grand jury in Louisville indicted one police officer for shooting into the neighboring apartments. One of the officers, Brett Hankison was charged with counts of wanton endangerment that resulted in Breonna's death on March 13. His bond was set at $15,000. 

"This is why police need to be defunded and ultimately abolished! We time and time again hope for a sliver of justice but why would we get that when the system is designed to protect the very folks that are murdering and terrorizing us. This isn’t a bad apple, it’s a rotten tree," commented Layshia Clarendon of the New York Liberty. Dallas Wings star, Isabelle Harrison tweeted: "Not surprised just disappointed . We’re sorry Breonna"

So far, sports organizations have come forward in support of players who took a stance and supported the Black Lives Matter movement. The NFL allowed decals of Breonna's name to be stuck on players' helmets and much of the NBA players have used their post-game interviews to voice out their thoughts and opinions. Whether this starts off another protest in the sporting world remains to be seen.