LeBron James, like many pro-athletes, was disbelieving in a tweet shared by the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday – after Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, was convicted of the murder of George Floyd.
While the sports world reacted to the verdict, the Raiders did so by sharing an image that read, “I CAN BREATHE,” with the date of the trial verdict below.
Last May, Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, told officers more than 20 times, “I can’t breathe,” while Chauvin knelt for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, prosecutor Jerry Blackwell said during the trial said.
James – who previously responded to the ruling by tweeting, “RESPONSIBILITY”, had this to say about the Raiders’ controversial tweet:
“It’s real ???? No man, it’s not it at all. The F ^% K !!!!”
After a deluge of setbacks, Raiders owner Mark Davis accepted responsibility for the tweet, saying he would not remove it because it had already been announced.
“I felt it was a powerful statement,” Davis said in a telephone interview with the Associated Press.
Davis explained that he was driving when the verdict was announced, and Floyd’s brother Philonise Floyd heard that ‘we can all breathe again’, and therefore decided to use a similar message as the team’s response.
“It said a lot about everything,” Davis said. “I thought it was something we could all breathe again. Justice has been served. We still have a lot of work to do on social justice and police brutality. But today justice has been served. ”
Davis apologizes if the tweet from Raiders offends Floyd’s family.
“It’s a difficult situation. I feel bad that it was taken in a way it was not meant to be. It could only be my fault if I did not explain it, ‘he said.
Following the verdict on Chauvin – in which a jury found him guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter – the NFL was among the various sports leagues and teams to make statements.
The NFL has promised in part to ‘continue to help our society move towards a more equal and just tomorrow’, and ‘to remain committed to doing the important work needed to bring about a positive change in our society’ make.’
The league did not address the Raiders’ Twitter message in public.