Utah Jazz Extend Condolences To Family Of Tyre Nichols

SALT LAKE CITY – Member of the Utah Jazz organization extended their condolences to the family of Tyre Nichols before facing the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.

Nichols was beaten by five police officers in Memphis on January 7 and died from the injuries on January 10.

On Friday, the Memphis police released videos of the beating. Prior to the release, five of the officers shown in the video assaulting Nichols were arrested and charged with second-degree murder, two counts of official misconduct, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, one count of official oppression, and one count of aggravated assault.

After the video was released Thursday, Jazz guard Mike Conley took to Twitter to express his thoughts on Nichols’ death.

I’ve been at a loss for words over the death of Tyre Nichols. I’m sending love to his family and to the city of Memphis, and I share in your pain over this tragic loss. Justice for Tyre. pic.twitter.com/KyRIXXoc6E

— Mike Conley (@mconley11) January 28, 2023

“I’ve been at a loss for words over the death of Tyre Nichols,” Conley wrote. “I’m sending love to his family and to the city of Memphis, and I share in your pain over this tragic loss. Justice for Tyre.”

Conley spent the first 12 years of his NBA career in Memphis and was an integral part of the community.

In 2020, Conley served as an executive producer on the Oscar-winning short film “Two Distant Strangers” which told the story of a Black man stuck in a loop, repeatedly killed by the same police officer while trying to figure out how to break the cycle.

The guard spoke about Nichols killing earlier Saturday.

Something everyone should take time to listen to. 🙏🏼 @mconley11 pic.twitter.com/adfq0ZzNpk

— Ryan Smith (@RyanQualtrics) January 28, 2023

“I have a lot of family in Memphis, I consider that place to be an area where I grew up — became who I am as a man and as a father,” Conley said. “When you see senseless violence like that you hear about it when you get to see it on a video — that could be any one of us. It could be our children. It could be somebody’s father, mother, or daughter. I mean, it’s just hard to put into words.”

Conley added while Nichols’ death has brought the conversation of racial equality back into the public consciousness, it’s an ongoing battle for many people in the United States.

“It feels like it’s gone away over the last few years for most people, but in the black community, it never goes away,” Conley said. “It’s always a daily, a weekly, a monthly thing where you have an incident, not just a police issue, but anything in the black community where something is done that is unjust.”

Prior to tipoff against the Mavericks, Jazz coach Will Hardy added his thoughts.

From Will Hardy:

“I want to express my condolences and our condolences to Tyre Nichols family & the Memphis community as they try to cope with this senseless and horrific act of violence. It's another jarring reminder of just how far we have to go as a society and it gets old.”

— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) January 29, 2023

“I want to express my condolences and our condolences to Tyre Nichols’ family and the Memphis community as they try to cope with this senseless and horrific act of violence,” Hardy said. “It’s another jarring reminder of just how far we have to go as a society and it gets old.”

On Friday, the Fraternal Order of Police, the nation’s largest police union decried the violence by the officers in Memphis.

“The event as described to us does not constitute legitimate police work or a traffic stop gone wrong,” National President of the FOP, Patrick Yoes said. “This is a criminal assault under the pretext of law.

Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10-12p with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops or on Instagram @BensHoops.

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