The Las Vegas Raiders are executed by a tweet after the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial. The former police officer was convicted of unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.
Shortly after the verdict was read, the Raiders tweeted the words ‘I can breathe’, followed by the date. The post was immediately criticized, and many call it insensitive. Floyd, 46, was heard saying, “I can’t breathe” when Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes on May 25, 2020, eventually killing him.
The owner of the team, Mark Davis, took responsibility for the tweet and told KLAS’s subsidiary KLAS that he was inspired by Floyd’s brother, Philonise, who said something similar on Tuesday. “Today we can breathe again, because justice for George means freedom for all,” Philonise said.
Davis told the Las Vegas Review-Journal he would only apologize if he thought the Floyd family was offensive. “I think justice has been served,” Davis said. “It’s rare that I make statements about anything and if I were to think that it offends the (Floyd) family, I would feel very bad and apologize. Apart from that, I do not apologize. I believe (honestly) after I after listening to Philonise, it’s a day we can all breathe. ‘
In a statement on Wednesday, Philonise thanked his family ‘sincere thanks’ to the Raiders organization for supporting his family and the country’s ‘pursuit of justice and equality for all’.
“Now, more than ever before, we must come together as one and continue this struggle. For the first time in almost a year, our family has breathed a sigh of relief. And I know this applies to so many people across the country and the world, “Let’s take this breath in honor of my big brother who could not. Let’s do it for George,” the statement read.
The phrase “I can not breathe” was also used as a rally in protests after the death of Eric Garner from a choke administered in 2014 by a New York City police officer. ‘I can breathe’ was used as a slogan for the police demonstrations at the time.
In response to the Raiders’ tweet, with LeBron James, former NBA player Jason Collins and others expressing their displeasure on Tuesday.
The NFL faced similar setbacks on Tuesday after issuing a statement that many considered deaf and dumb because of the league’s treatment of players protesting against police violence.
Colin Kaepernick, who led kneeling protests for the first time in 2016 to address police brutality and racial injustice, remains endorsed despite a record that includes a Super Bowl appearance at the San Francisco 49ers. In a statement last year, Kaepernick called on the NFL to “blackball” security. Eric Reid, who along with Kaepernick protested against police violence but has not yet been signed by any team.