We all heard the news yesterday that Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter on Tuesday in the death of George Floyd. Last May, Floyd told officers “I can’t breathe” more than 20 times as Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck resulting in his death.
After the conviction, a tweet sent by the Raiders’ official twitter account said, “I CAN BREATHE 4-20-21.” (see below)
Since posting the message, they have been swarmed by criticism of the post. Raiders Owner, Mark Davis says they were his words and he meant no disrespect to Floyd, his family or supporters.
Davis said that he took the lead from George Floyd’s brother who said “Today, we able to breathe again.” Davis also confessed that he was not aware that NYDP supporters wore “I CAN BREATHE” shirts following the 2014 killing of Eric Garner, a NYC black man who was also killed after a NYPD officer put him in a prohibited chokehold while arresting him. He said he understands where some of the negativity came from but suggests that he is not embarrassed by what he said and will not have it removed from the account.
Do you agree with the backlash?