Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James posted a series of tweets Wednesday afternoon explaining why he deleted a tweet following the fatal police shooting of Ma’Khia Bryant, a 16-year-old black girl in Columbus, Ohio.
Anger does any of us some good and that includes myself! Gathering all the facts and education do! My anger is still there about what happened to that little girl. My sympathy for her family and may justice prevail! 🙏🏾✊🏾🤎👑
– LeBron James (@KingJames) April 21, 2021
I am so tired of seeing black people murdered by the police. I deleted the tweet because it is being used to create more hatred. This is not about one officer. it’s all over the system and they always use our words to create more racism. I am so desperate for more RESPONSIBILITY
– LeBron James (@KingJames) April 21, 2021
James’s tweet, which has since been deleted, featured a photo of Officer Nicholas Reardon, who is white, on Wednesday with an accompanying caption: “YOU ARE NEXT # RESPONSIBILITY”, along with an hourglass emoji.
Body cameras released by the Columbus Police Division showed the officer, identified as Reardon on Wednesday, getting out of his car at a house where police had been sent after someone called that they were being physically threatened.
As the officer walks to a group of people in the driveway, Bryant can be seen fiercely swinging a knife at another girl or woman, who falls backwards. The officer calls several times to duck. Bryant then stands out against another girl or woman, who is pinned to a car.
From a few feet away, with people on either side, the officer fired four shots and dropped Bryant to the ground. The knife is next to her on the sidewalk.
Bryant was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead, police said. Police did not say if anyone else had been injured.
James’s hometown, Akron, Ohio, is located about 200 miles northeast of Columbus, the state capital.
The Bryant shooting occurred shortly after a Minneapolis jury found agent Derek Chauvin guilty of two murders and one in manslaughter for George Floyd’s filing at a convenience store in May 2020.
James responded to Chauvin’s verdict with one word, “Responsibility.”
James’ teammate, Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis, said Los Angeles had not yet discussed the outcome of the trial as a team, but gave his personal views on the outcome.
“I think a lot of people in the world are happy with the verdict and they can just give peace to that family, [y] peace of mind, ”Davis said Wednesday. I think it was a first step to justice … I think it was a good day just for the world to do justice because so often you don’t see where it doesn’t happen. “