A group of protesters blocked two NBA busses from entering the Disney World bubble on Saturday as they chanted “Black Lives Matter” and “LeBron, can you help us?”
The group was protesting the death of Salaythis Melvin, a Black man who was fatally shot in the back by an Orange County sheriff’s deputy last month.
Sheriff’s officials said Melvin was armed, but attorneys for his family said he posed no threat to the deputy involved.
On Saturday, the busses carrying members of the media and NBA staff were temporarily blocked from entering the campus as protestors tried to get NBA players’ attention.
There were no players on the busses, but it didn’t stop the group from calling out to LeBron and Russell Westbrook. One sign said, “Russell Stand With Us.”
The group made it clear why they were there as they held a sign that read, “We are here because Orange County Sheriff shot and killed an innocent black man at the Florida Mall!”
The group gathered on a public road and then stopped buses on an access road near an entrance to the Bubble. The mall where Melvin was shot in the back is about 15 miles from the NBA bubble.
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Journalist Gary Washburn tweeted, “In the latest episode of Life in the Bubble, our media bus has been stopped by protesters against the Orange County Sheriffs dept against the killing of Salaythis Melvin. The protesters thought our bus was filled with NBA players. #BlackLivesMatter*”
