The NBA, known for kowtowing to China over human rights violations, released a statement following the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse that claimed he was a vigilante and the men who attacked him were peacefully protesting.
The NBA’s National Basketball Social Justice Coalition Executive Director James Cadogan released a statement about the verdict, which said:
Our thoughts are with the families of those whose lives were taken in this tragedy. The right to peacefully protest is a bedrock of our democracy and the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition remains committed to preserving that right for all. Any forms of vigilantism in our society are unacceptable.
Statement from National Basketball Social Justice Coalition Executive Director James Cadogan on the verdict in Kenosha, Wisconsin. pic.twitter.com/5jjTtssON2
— NBA (@NBA) November 20, 2021
YouTuber Lauren Chen noted the error of the NBA’s statement: “The vigilantes were the people who were committing violence because they were upset Jacob Blake got shot resisting arrest and carrying a knife.”
The vigilantes were the people who were committing violence because they were upset Jacob Blake got shot resisting arrest and carrying a knife
Also aren’t you supposed to do basketball
— Lauren Chen (@TheLaurenChen) November 20, 2021
Indeed, as the trial showed, Rittenhouse acted in self-defense when he shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber before injuring Gaige Grosskreutz. The two men Rittenhouse shot had attacked him before they were shot, and Grosskreutz pointed his gun at Rittenhouse’s head before he was shot and injured. As The Daily Wire reported:
Rittenhouse pled not guilty to all charges. His attorneys argued that he acted in self-defense.
The murder trial began on Nov. 1 and lasted two weeks and a day. The jury was out for — days.
The prosecution and the defense made their closing arguments on Monday, prosecutors arguing that Rittenhouse was an “active shooter” who threatened those around him illegally.
As CNN surprisingly noted, legal experts explained that the prosecution failed to prove that Rittenhouse was an active shooter when video evidence showed he acted in self-defense when he was attacked:
What the trial came down to, according to civil rights attorney Charles F. Coleman Jr. were two competing narratives: one of Rittenhouse being a victim who was attacked, and one of being a vigilante who provoked the violence.
“The jury bought the narrative of Kyle Rittenhouse being a victim, they thought that his self-defense claim was a lot stronger than the prosecution’s provocation claim,” he said.
Another defense attorney, Sara Azari, told CNN that prosecutors “weren’t able to show that his response to each of these men, to each of these sets of threats was unreasonable.”
“When the jury came back a couple days ago and watched the videos… frame by frame, they were looking to see whether Kyle did something to provoke the threat and whether his response to that threat was reasonable in terms of using deadly force and they agreed with the defense that it was,” Azari added.
Rittenhouse’s own defense attorney, Mark Richards, made this clear during the trial.
“This case is not a game, this is my client’s life,” said Rittenhouse’s attorney, Mark Richards. “Every person who was shot was attacking Kyle.”