Denver Nuggets forward Jerami Grant used his entire interview session with reporters Wednesday to discuss Breonna Taylor's death and the issue of police brutality.
Grant fielded five questions, including one about teammate Nikola Jokic joining the Nuggets in Orlando for practice. No matter the question, he responded by making a statement and keeping the focus of his answers on Taylor and social justice.
The first question was about how the Nuggets had been spending their free time.
"It's great to be here with my teammates, great to be back playing basketball but for me personally, and I think a lot of players, it's imperative that we focus on what is really important in the world," Grant said. "One thing for me is Breonna Taylor's killers are still roaming around free, so I want to focus on that with these interviews and things like that. I want to keep the focus there."
Taylor, a 26-year-old Black emergency medical technician, was shot eight times on March 13 in Louisville, Kentucky, by plainclothes officers serving a narcotics search warrant without knocking at her apartment. No drugs were found.
Her death has sparked outrage across the country, with protesters calling for the officers to be charged. An investigation is ongoing.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone praised Grant for using his platform to promote a cause he believes in.
"I respect Jerami doing that," Malone said. "It's a big point of emphasis from the league, from the coaches, the NBPA, coming down here. Making sure that we continue the conversation and keeping the spotlight where it needs to be. For Jerami to dedicate his press conference to the memory of the life of Breonna Taylor is outstanding, so I applaud him for that."
Grant said he will not be wearing one of the available social justice messages on his jersey to make a statement, saying he would "rather do it through words" during his time with reporters.
"[There's] a lot going on in the world right now with police brutality and racism and things like that, and I want to keep the focus on that," Grant said. "It's tough times. It has been this way for a long time. Basketball is something I love and something everybody loves, but at the same time we got to focus on what is important."
Grant said that he and his family had attended a couple of protests.
"For me, it was good to be able to experience history, be able to see people come together for our culture," he said. "It was amazing. I have a foundation ['Hour Generation Foundation'] trying to give back to our community and things like that. Been doing things behind the scenes, just trying to keep everybody together."