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. Team owner Mark Davis has claimed responsibility for the source of the tweet, reports KLAS, a subsidiary of CBS in Las Vegas.
Davis said 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.
The tweet quickly returned, while Lebron James and others expressed their displeasure.
Many felt that the words ‘I can breathe’ were 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.
“I can not breathe” was also used as a rally during protests following Eric Garner’s death from a stranglehold administered in 2014 by a New York City police officer. ‘I can breathe’ was used at the time as a slogan for demonstrations for the police.
In an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Davis said he would only apologize if he offended Floyd’s family. “It’s rare for me to make statements about anything,” Davis told the newspaper, “and if I were to think it offends the family, I would feel very bad and apologize. Apart from that, I do not apologize. I honestly believe, after listening to Philonise, it’s a day we can all breathe. ‘
The National Football League faced a similar setback on Tuesday after issuing a statement that was seen by many as deaf following the ruling on Chauvin because of the league’s treatment of players who have protested against police violence in the past.
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 the NFL for “black ball” safety Eric Reid, who joined Kaepernick to protest police violence but has not yet been signed by any team.