Jaylen Brown drives 15 hours from Boston to Atlanta to lead peaceful George Floyd protest

Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown led a peaceful protest in Atlanta on Saturday against the brutal killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Jaylen Brown, a native of Marietta, Georgia, said during the protest that he drove 15 hours from Boston in order to join and also lead the protest in Atlanta. Brown also streamed a part of the march live on his Instagram handle.

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George Floyd death: Jaylen Brown drives 15 hours from Boston to join protest in Atlanta

"I drove 15 hours to get to Georgia, my community," Jaylen Brown said during his speech. "This is a peaceful protest. Being a celebrity, being an NBA player, don't exclude me from no conversations at all. 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."

As mentioned above, Jaylen Brown grew up in Marietta, which is just a 15-minute drive from Atlanta. Earlier this year, Brunswick, Georgia, saw a similar incident of police brutality after Ahmaud Arbery was shot by a former police officer and his son, while he was jogging in the neighbourhood.

"As a young person, you've got to listen to our perspective. Our voices need to be heard. I'm 23 years old. I don't know all of the answers. But I feel how everybody else is feeling, for sure. No question," Jaylen Brown added.

The Celtics guard, who is the Vice President of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), was seen marching with the fellow protesters while holding a megaphone and a sign that read: 'I can't breathe' - a reference to George Floyd's last heard words before he died. Jaylen Brown was joined by Indiana Pacers star Malcolm Brogdon, NBA G League star Justin Anderson and rapper Lil Yachty.

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George Floyd death: George Floyd protest in Atlanta

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George Floyd death

George Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed African-American was brutally murdered by police officer Derek Chauvin last Monday. The Minneapolis resident was pinned down by Chauvin, who pressed his knee against Floyd's neck for several minutes. The footage of the incident went viral on social media where Floyd was repeatedly heard pleading, "I can't breathe" before he eventually turned 'silent' and 'motionless'. George Floyd was pronounced dead later that night. 

Floyd's unjust death caused massive unrest and outrage among the African-American community in the United States. Cities like Minneapolis, Atlanta, Houston, New York and others saw mass protests throughout last week. Derek Chauvin and the three identified officers - Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng - were fired by the  Minneapolis Police Department. On Friday, Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. 

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