The NFL spoke out on America’s racial crisis on Saturday by issuing a statement on the important role of Commissioner Roger Goodell’s circuit in the ongoing fight against “systemic problems” in the country.
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In no case does this Goodell statement, made in reaction to the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, mention the concept of racism.
“Our sincere condolences go out to the family of Mr. George Floyd and those who have lost loved ones, including the families of Miss Breonna Taylor in Louisville and Mr. Ahmaud Arbery, cousin of Lions player Tracy Walker of Detroit, ”said the commissioner.
“As current events so dramatically underscore, there is still so much to do as a country and as a league. These tragedies inform the NFL’s commitment and our ongoing efforts, ”he continued.
“We recognize the power of our forum in communities and as the fabric of American society. We embrace our responsibility and are committed to continuing the important work of addressing these systemic issues together – with our players, clubs and partners. “
About 70% of NFL players were black, according to an unofficial census from 2014.
About George Floyd
The city of Minneapolis on Saturday announced an unprecedented deployment of forces in the aftermath of a fourth night of riots, which spread to several major US cities, despite the arrest of the police officer involved in the death of George Floyd.
The white policeman who, filmed on video, maintains his knee for long minutes on the neck of the forty-something, was arrested Friday and charged with “manslaughter” and “cruel and dangerous act causing death”.
About Breonna Taylor
Breonna Taylor, 26, and her companion Kenneth Walker were sleeping in an apartment in Louisville on March 13, when police in that city in the central United States unannounced her door, the lawyer said in a statement. of the family.
The officers, with a search warrant, were acting in the context of an erroneous search notice concerning a suspect who no longer lived in the building and who was already in detention. They hit the young woman with at least eight bullets, according to the lawyer.
About Ahmaud Arbery
Seventy-four days after the incident, two white men were charged with killing Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black jogger, in the US state of Georgia in late February.
In a 28-second video released Tuesday by the runner’s family lawyer, Arbery is seen running along a Brunswick road. As he walks around a white pickup a man is standing on, he is stopped by a second man who grabs him. A gunshot is heard, then a second.
The two have been identified as Travis McMichael, 34, and his father, Gregory McMichael, 64, residents of this coastal town in this historically segregated former South.
