The Memphis Grizzlies held a moment of silence Sunday for Tyre Nichols before they played the Indiana Pacers, the club’s first home game since footage was released of Memphis police officers beating Nichols to death after a traffic stop Jan. 7.
Nichols, 29, died three days after the beating occurred. Five officers were fired and all face second-degree murder charges as well as charges of aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression.
“Obviously, our city is going through a really tough time right now, I’m kind of focused on that more than basketball,” Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said, adding that the footage was “very disturbing.”
Guard Tyus Jones, who was in Minnesota at the time of George Floyd’s death in 2020, said it was hard to deal with the emotions.
“It’s a sad situation. It’s unfortunate,” Jones said. “A lot of emotions flowing. … Anger because that shouldn’t happen. That’s not supposed to happen.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.