Star football players participated in a video released on Twitter on Thursday. The players demanded a revised statement from the league on systemic racism. Stars like Odell Beckham Jr., Saquon Barkley, Tyrann Mathieu, Deshaun Mahomes and Patrick Mahomes all made appearances in the 71-second video. They all spoke the names of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Eric Garner, Laquan McDonald, and more by proclaiming they are representations of them because of their Blackness.
“I am Eric Garner,” said Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott. “I am Frank Smart,” said Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson.
The current protests across the world are a result of years of racial oppression, especially from the police. The recent death of George Floyd received the most media attention when he was caught on camera with a knee to his neck by fired officer Derek Chauvin. Floyd could be heard yelling “I can’t breathe” during the arrest. He eventually died and the four officers involved have been fired and charged after civil unrest. Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder.
Floyd’s death comes after the death of people like Breonna Taylor, who was killed in her own home after a “no-knock” warrant from the police, and Ahmaurd Arbery who was killed by vigilante’s Travis McMichael and his father George McMichael, both of whom have been charged with murder.
The NFL initially released a statement, signed by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, which read, “Our deepest condolences go out to the family of Mr. George Floyd and to those who have lost loved ones, including the families of Ms. Breonna Taylor in Louisville, and Mr. Ahmaud Arbery, the cousin of Tracy Walker of the Detroit Lions.”
They further said “These tragedies inform the NFL’s commitment and our ongoing efforts. There remains an urgent need for action. We recognize the power of our platform in communities and as part of the fabric of American society. We embrace that responsibility and are committed to continuing the important work to address these systemic issues together with our players, clubs, and partners.”
This was definitely not enough though, considering they still haven’t apologized to Colin Kaepernick and the other players who took a knee to protest police brutality and racial injustice. Kaepernick is still, in fact, unemployed by the league, which sends a clear message that if you peacefully protest anti-Black violence, you could lose your job in the league.
NFL stars in the Thursday video demanded the NFL explicitly say, “We the National Football League condemn racism and the systematic oppression of Black people. We the National Football League admit wrong in silencing our players from peacefully protesting. We the National Football League believe Black lives matter.”
On Thursday, the NFL released another statement on their Instagram acknowledging that “Black Lives Matter.”
Through their community initiative Inspire Change, they also said that they’ve “supported programs and initiatives throughout the country to address systemic racism. We will continue using our platform to challenge the injustice around us.”
The league then said after donating “$44 million to support hundreds of worthy organizations,” this year, they’ll donate “$20 million to these causes and we will accelerate efforts to highlight their critical work. We know that we can and need to do more.”
Still no apology to silencing players and how that will be treated in the future.
1. US: Protestors set fire to Minneapolis police precinct
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13. The third day of mourning and protesting and looting after the death of George Floyd in police custody
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20. US: Protestors set fire to Minneapolis police precinct
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21. Protests Continue Over Death Of George Floyd, Killed In Police Custody In Minneapolis
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22. Vigil Held For George Floyd, Who Was Killed In Police Custody In Minneapolis
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23. Protests Continue Over Death Of George Floyd, Killed In Police Custody In Minneapolis
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26. Protests Continue Over Death Of George Floyd, Killed In Police Custody In Minneapolis
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29. Minnesota community members mourned, protested and looted in reaction to George Floyd dying in police custody
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30. Minnesota community members mourned, protested and looted in reaction to George Floyd dying in police custody
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Continue reading Minneapolis Descends Into Fiery Chaos As Trump Threatens Protesting ‘THUGS’ With ‘Shooting’
Minneapolis Descends Into Fiery Chaos As Trump Threatens Protesting 'THUGS' With 'Shooting'
[caption id="attachment_3950196" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Source: Stephen Maturen / Getty[/caption]
UPDATED: 6:00 a.m. ET, May 29 --
Minneapolis protests raged for a third night straight in response to a fired city police officer appearing to kill an unarmed Black man in broad daylight on Memorial Day. As protesters managed to not only breach the police station where the officer worked, they also set it on fire, prompting the president to respond by warning the "THUGS" looting stores and suggesting that he will have them shot.
[caption id="attachment_3950193" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Source: Anadolu Agency / Getty[/caption]
Hundreds of protesters took to the Minneapolis streets to demonstrate against the death of George Floyd, who witnesses recorded apparently being killed by Derek Chauvin, who, along with three other people were fired on Tuesday from the Minneapolis Police Department. However, criminal charges have remained elusive since the shooting on Monday, which is part of the reason protesters claimed they were demonstrating.
[caption id="attachment_3950195" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Source: KEREM YUCEL / Getty[/caption]
Having previously been relatively quiet about the high profile killing of an unarmed and handcuffed Black man by police, Donald Trump resorted to racist tropes in a series of tweets early Friday morning that blamed the situation on "the very weak Radical Left Mayor, Jacob Frey."
[caption id="attachment_3950197" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Source: Star Tribune via Getty Images / Getty[/caption]
In a subsequent tweet, Trump threatened to order the U.S. military to shoot the "THUGS" protesting. The second tweet was censored -- but not removed -- by Twitter for violating the social media platform's policy on glorifying violence.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1266231100780744704?s=20
Trump's tweets capped off a night of chaos not just in Minneapolis but also in various cities around the country where protesters used Floyd's death as an opportunity to highlight the police violence against Black people in their hometowns. Protesters also continued to light structures on fire in addition to setting the 3rd precinct aflame.
[caption id="attachment_3950194" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Source: KEREM YUCEL / Getty[/caption]
One night after setting a Target and a construction site on fire and reducing them to ash, a restaurant was among the latest structural casualties from the protests.
https://twitter.com/EngKelvin3/status/1266296088207560705?s=20
The National Guard was also activated and deployed to Minneapolis.
https://twitter.com/StribJany/status/1266281378947063809
Protesters were still clashing with police into the early hours of Friday, according to video footage posted to social media.
https://twitter.com/MichaelDoudna/status/1266279693113716738?s=20
A separate fire was reported at the 4th police precinct, too.
https://twitter.com/VuHyena/status/1266265697966948354?s=20
A local pharmacy also went up in flames.
https://twitter.com/NFerraroPiPress/status/1266257324479373318https://twitter.com/PaulBlume_FOX9/status/1266244250045313024
Original story:
Minneapolis residents woke up Thursday to see their city literally burning as protesters raged and rioted following the police killing of an unarmed Black man earlier this week.
https://twitter.com/StarTribune/status/1265925608699092996?s=20
Wednesday was the second straight night of people protesting the Minneapolis Police Department and its officers involved in the death of George Floyd, who was handcuffed on Memorial Day and forced to lie face-down on the street when now-fired cop Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck until the 46-year-old man was no longer conscious.
https://twitter.com/FrostIgneel/status/1265901367664603137?s=20
Aside from people protesting Floyd's killing, his actual killer remained free and avoided any criminal charges and an arrest as of Thursday morning despite the Minneapolis mayor on Wednesday calling for that to happen.
https://twitter.com/TPalanuk/status/1265947611489611777?s=20
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said on Wednesday in no uncertain terms that he thinks Chauvin should be arrested.
https://twitter.com/CodyReese_/status/1265933297281929216?s=20
“I’ve wrestled with, more than anything else over the last 36 hours, one fundamental question: Why is the man who killed George Floyd not in jail?” he said. “If you had done it, or I had done it, we would be behind bars right now. And I cannot come up with a good answer to that.”
https://twitter.com/_J_Jizzle/status/1265908005410914304?s=20
While the protests Tuesday night were contentious at times, including protesters being pepper-sprayed and getting shot by rubber bullets, photos and video footage from Wednesday night and into Thursday morning showed evidence of an even more intense demonstration against police violence.
https://twitter.com/atSerpentine/status/1265902841308295175?s=20
Multiple buildings and structures in Minneapolis were ravaged by fires as one person was reportedly shot to death amid all the protesting. Police made an arrest in the case but details of that shooting were scarce as videos surfaced of officers threatening protesters.
https://twitter.com/rtnordy/status/1265939354062598144?s=20
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that the protest's lone shooting victim was shot by a store owner.
https://twitter.com/StribJany/status/1265889915310653440?s=20
However, it was the evolving details of Floyd's brazen police killing that was fueling the rage shown by protesters, including one who was shown with a bloody head after having been apparently shot by officers' rubber bullets.
https://twitter.com/StribJany/status/1265907241808519169?s=20
One of the places that burned down was a Target store -- perhaps the flagship store as the company's headquarters are in Minneapolis.
https://twitter.com/exlusively_xo/status/1265911896181538817?s=20
Protesters turned into looters when they broke into the store and eventually lit it on fire.
https://twitter.com/KEEMSTAR/status/1265919608743215104?s=20
There were also reports that officers in the city's 3rd precinct were being shot at.
https://twitter.com/believe_coach/status/1265923428562993152?s=20
Wednesday was the second straight day and night of protests and police showed they were up to the task by wearing riot gear and shooting flash bangs at protesters as well as tear gas cannisters.
https://twitter.com/kscullinfox9/status/1265776062191013890?s=20
Protesters vowed to keep his Floyd’s alive in an effort to achieve legal and social justice in the Minneapolis area’s latest high-profile police killing of a Black person.
https://twitter.com/billkellerfox9/status/1265944304687685633?s=20
A tweet from someone who identified herself as a Minneapolis resident said that the images of the city burning gave her a sense of satisfaction.
https://twitter.com/dickexpert/status/1265898046690414593?s=20
Some local residents raced to try to extinguish the fires in their neighborhood, perhaps to no avail because of the way they were raging.
https://twitter.com/devkrinke/status/1265905849282826240?s=20
Scroll down to see more powerful images from the continued protests of George Floyd's killing in Minneapolis as the city demands justice and an end to police violence.