The National Basketball Social Justice Coalition has called on the U.S. Senate to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, a police reform bill named for the Black man who was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis a year ago Tuesday.
In a statement released on Monday night, Social Justice Coalition's executive director James Cadogan urged "elected representative of both parties to work together to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in the U.S. Senate now and present it to President Biden for him to sign into law this year."
The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act would ban chokeholds by federal officers and end qualified immunity for law enforcement against civil lawsuits, as well as create national standards for policing in a bid to bolster accountability. It was passed by the House of Representatives in March but faces a much tougher road in the evenly-divided Senate.
Floyd died on May 25, 2020, after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for more than nine minutes, while Floyd repeatedly said he couldn't breathe. His death sparked months of protests focused on systemic racism and a renewed debate over police reform in the U.S. Chauvin was convicted last month on multiple charges stemming from Floyd's death, including second-degree murder and third-degree murder.
The National Basketball Players Association was established in November 2020 and is made up of five NBA governors, five players and two coaches, as well as NBA commissioner Adam Silver, NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum and NBPA executive director Michele Roberts.
The coalition was established to "advance equality and social justice," and use the NBA's influence to educate and enact meaningful reform on a variety of social justice topics.
– With files from The Associated Press
