The Las Vegas Raiders sent out a bizarre tweet on Tuesday that caused a furious uproar online after the conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd.
The tweet showed a black and white image that read “I can breathe” above Tuesday’s date.
Hours earlier, a jury found the white ex-cop guilty of two murder and one manslaughter. Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes on May 25, 2020, even as the black man repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe.”
The tweet was pinned to the top of the NFL team’s account, even after dozens of commenters called on the team to delete the post. In just over an hour, the image was retweeted more than 40,000 times. Critics who shared the message cried out for having bad taste, noting that the responsibility for Floyd’s murder does not bring him back or serve justice for hundreds of other black people murdered by police.
Raiders media representatives did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request to comment on its decisions to post and leave the tweet.
Some compared it to widespread comments from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Earlier Tuesday. Speaking to reporters, Pelosi thanked Floyd for “sacrificing your life for justice.” Critics pointed out that Floyd had nothing to say about that sacrifice and did not agree to become a symbol for the racial justice movement that crystallized his death.
Nearly two hours after the first Raiders tweet was sent, Las Vegas Review-Journal reported sports columnist Ed Graney tweeted that he had spoken to Raiders owner Mark Davis, who he said took responsibility for the tweet.
Davis told another Las Vegas sports reporter, Tashan Reed, that the post will not be removed and he was disappointed if it was offensive.
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