Editor’s Note: The following story contains details about violence, and may be distressing for some readers.
The hosting Minnesota Timberwolves and visiting Memphis Grizzlies held a moment of silence before their game on Friday for Tyre Nichols after Memphis authorities released video of the violent beating of Nichols in which police officers held the Black motorist down and struck him repeatedly.
The video of the beating emerged one day after the officers, who are all Black, were charged with murder in Nichols’ death.
“The Minnesota Timberwolves and the entire NBA family are deeply saddened by the tragic killing of Tyre Nichols,” the public address announcer said. “We extend our thoughts and heartfelt sympathies to Tyre’s family, friends, loved ones, the Memphis community and communities across the country during this difficult time.”
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The footage shows police savagely beating the 29-year-old FedEx worker for three minutes while screaming profanities at him throughout the attack on Jan. 10. The Nichols family legal team has likened the assault to the infamous 1991 police beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King.
Before the game, Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins started his press conference with reporters giving his thoughts on the situation in Memphis.
“Our city is struggling right now,” he said. ” Our city’s coping with the loss of one of our own. And Tyre Nichols. It’s devastating. You know, there’s been a lot that’s transpired over the last couple of weeks and days learning about the incident involving Tyre Nichols and the police and coming to find out that it’s another example of police brutality, it’s taken a life of one of our own. It’s been hard to process. There’s a lot of emotion.”
The Grizzlies return home on Sunday to face the Indiana Pacers in what’s sure to be an emotional game.
“I think our biggest message is how we’ve got to be able to put our arms around people,” Jenkins said. And obviously we have a job to do. That’s an important job for our city. Representing (and) putting the name Memphis over the front of our jerseys … (There’s) responsibility. But it goes beyond basketball. And that’s what we’re continuing to kind of grapple and kind of cope with and try to figure out. But there’s going to be stages and phases of this recovery.”
— With files from AP
