Stephen Jackson Joined Protesters In Minnesota To Speak Out About The Death Of His Friend George Floyd

Former NBA champion Stephen Jackson is taking matters into his own hands. Jackson gave an emotional interview on the TODAY Show on Thursday morning, in which he opened up about his lifelong friendship with his “twin,” George Floyd, who died on Monday after a Minnesota police officer knelt on his neck.

Jackson arrived in Minnesota on Friday to address the media and join with local activists. He was joined by many members of the community, plus Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns, as well as fellow NBAers Josh Okogie, Gary Trent Jr. and Royce White, as he spoke to reporters.

During the NBA hiatus, Towns has garnered attention because of the death of his mother as a result of COVID-19, which makes his presence all the more striking.

But it was Jackson, who lives in Los Angeles, who made a statement first, saying, “I’m here because they’re not going to demean the character of George Floyd.”

Donning, a black hoodie reading “RIP George Floyd,” Jackson spoke to a crowd of onlookers and reporters to commemorate his lifelong friend.

“A lot of times, when police do things that they know is wrong, the first thing they try to do is cover it up and bring up your background to make it seem like the bullsh*t that they did was worth it.”

In a subsequent clip, Jackson painted an even clearer picture of the tragedy of Floyd’s death.

“They say experience is the best teacher,” Jackson said, “so you’re going to make mistakes. You’re going to make some bad decisions. It happens.

“You get an opportunity to move away from the environment that brought you down. You get away, you’re successful, and your life starts turning in the right direction. You stumble a little bit again, but it’s not worth your life, though.”

Visibly choked up, Jackson went on to describe the violent circumstances of Floyd’s murder, which led on Friday afternoon to the arrest of officer Derek Chauvin, who is being charged with murder and manslaughter.

Turning toward his hopes going forward, Jackson said, “I’m going to use everything I have to get a conviction (for Chauvin), to get all these motherf*ckers in jail.”

According to John Krawczynski, who covers the Timberwolves for The Athletic, Jackson left his mini press conference to lead a rally outside the Hennepin County Government Center.

Long more than just a basketball player, Jackson, who also commented on social justice and politics in his music and on his popular podcast All the Smoke, and is using his platform to speak out on behalf of his “twin,” George Floyd.