"Police brutality" is not the proper way to describe the nature of American policing, says the Boston Celtics' cop-hating forward Jaylen Brown. He prefers the term "domestic terrorism," and Newsweek magazine gave him an unquestioned forum to level his outrageous charge.
Brown, a 23-year-old standout player for the Celtics who attended Cal-Berkeley, called for police brutality "to be classified as 'domestic terrorism' and warned young black people were growing up scared of police forces due to decades of racial profiling," Dan Cancian's Newsweek story reads.
In the Newsweek story, Brown infers that Trayvon Martin was killed by police officers. But why let editing and fact checking get in the way of a good inflammatory hit piece on the favorite target of the Left -- the police? Newsweek is not up to the task of ensuring journalistic integrity in this story.
After Boston's recent victory over Orlando at the NBA's Florida bubble, Brown met with reporters and launched his attack on public safety officers.:
"I want to take a look at the term 'police brutality' and offer another term as domestic terrorism'. Because that's what it was in the eyes of George Floyd. That's what it was in the eyes of Trayvon Martin. That's what it is on the eyes of people of color and minority communities."
Cancian followed up Brown's comments by writing:
"Citing the examples of George Floyd, who died while in custody of the Minneapolis Police Department on May 25 and Trayvon Martin, an African American teenager shot dead by a member of the community watch in Miami in 2012, Brown indicated repeated incidents involving police brutality warranted a change of approach to the issue."
Brown also told media that, after decades of systematic targeting and racial profiling by police officers, black Americans raise their children to fear the police. In some communities police officers are seen as protectors, but not in those where cops are terrorizing minorities.
"Law enforcement, historically in America, has targeted and profiled black and minority civilian populations throughout time," Brown said. "Some Americans have the birthright and the privilege to see police officers as protectors and even embrace heroism. Unfortunately, I'm not from that side of America.
"I'm from the other side where people are in fear of the police where you can be killed in your own backyard while reaching for your wallet. Your parents have to teach you certain behaviors because they're in fear that if you run into the police you might not come home."
In June, Brown drove 15 hours to his native Georgia to join in demonstrations against racial discrimination and police brutality following Floyd's killing, Cancian reports.
The third overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft, Brown live-streamed part of the that demonstration on Instagram. He was wearing an "I can't breathe" shirt at the time.
"Being a celebrity, being an NBA player doesn't exclude me from no conversation at all," Brown remarked. "First and foremost, I'm a black man and I'm a member of this community. ... We're raising awareness for some of the injustices that we've been seeing. It's not OK."
Like most of the NBA players competing at the Disney World bubble in Orlando, Brown is displaying a social justice message on his uniform. He chose the slogan "Liberation."
Along with almost all the other players in Orlando, Brown is also kneeling during pregame ceremonies. How's that working out? Not well, not well at all!
"The NBA ratings slump is not abating, even as the league’s schedule improves," writes Paulsen, of Sports Media Watch.
Bobby Burack, of Outkick The Coverage sports blog, reports the TV ratings of several ESPN talk show that cover the NBA are "alarmingly low."
"It’s early, but this start is concerning," Burack wrote. "Remember, the NBA is the most discussed league on many of these shows. ..."
