Amid violent protests and the destruction of downtown property, including the team store at the Charlotte Hornets stadium, NBA legend and Hornets owner Michael Jordan called for peaceful protests in the city of Charlotte.Jordan released a statement on Thursday afternoon, expressing his condolences to the family of Keith Lamont Scott, who was shot and killed by a police officer, and urged citizens to “come together” in “peaceful” demonstration.”First I want to express my condolences to the Scott family for their loss. I also wish for a full recovery for those who have been injured,” Jordan said. “In light of the tragic events of the past three days, it is more important than ever that we restore calm and come together, as a community, in peaceful demonstration and conversation, and in constructive and non-violent ways.”As part of the fabric of Charlotte, the Hornets organization is committed to working with civic leaders, our elected leaders and law enforcement to foster more trust, transparency and understanding so we can heal and grow together as a community.”Jordan, while playing basketball and in his post-playing life, often kept quiet about societal issues.But he recently spoke out about violence in the community as well as police shootings in a letter that was published on the ESPN website The Undefeated, while announcing he was donating $1 million each to the the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s newly established Institute for Community-Police Relations and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.The protests in Charlotte spilled from the streets of downtown into businesses, causing immense amounts of damage, including to the Hornets’ own arena.North Carolina governor Pat McCrory declared a state of emergency in Charlotte on Wednesday night.Jordan’s own father was killed on the side of the highway in 1993 and found in a creek with a gun wound in his chest.
