LeBron James Reacts to Release of Graphic Tyre Nichols Police Encounter Video
The body cam footage of the Tyre Nichols police encounter was released Friday night.
The footage is graphic and disturbing, and shows Nichols being beaten by police officers after a traffic stop.
Nichols died from his injuries after spending several days in the hospital, prompting widespread outrage.
Video of the incident is below.
After the release, LeBron James reacted with several tweets about Nichols and the incident.
In the first, he responded with “TOO FACTUAL” to a tweet saying that the “entire system of policing sees the Black body as a problem. No matter who pulls the trigger.”
He continued in a second tweet an hour later saying “WE ARE OUR OWN WORSE ENEMY!!!”
LeBron’s Reaction to Nichols Video
Virtually everyone is in agreement that the police conduct in the Nichols video was unacceptable.
Memphis police chose to release the video late Friday evening, with sports teams and cities bracing for potential reactions to the video release.
OutKick founder Clay Travis described the footage as “awful” and that it “felt very personal.”
The five police officers involved are in fact, facing charges of murder.
It was an inexcusable, unnecessary over use of force.
But the tweet LeBron described as “too factual” was essentially saying that Black police officers acted out of racism against a Black victim.
Their motivations for overreacting are unclear and probably never will be clear, but it’s unfair to blame “policing” for the actions of a few individuals. No matter how distasteful and unacceptable they might be.
The local police chief, for example, called their actions "heinous, reckless and inhumane,” according to Fox News.
Nichols’ death was a devastating tragedy, full stop. But putting the blame on “systems” instead of individuals simply isn’t accurate.