LeBron James, like many other professional athletes, was in disbelief over a tweet shared by the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday – after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of the murder of George Floyd.
While the sports world responded to the verdict, the Raiders did so by sharing an image that read “I CAN BREATHE,” with the date of the verdict below.
Last May, Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, said to officers “I can’t breathe” more than 20 times while Chauvin knelt on his neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, prosecutor Jerry Blackwell said at trial.
James – who previously responded to the verdict by tweeting, “ACCOUNTABILITY” – had this to say about the Raiders’ controversial tweet:
“This is real ???? No man, this isn’t it at all. The F ^% K !!!!”
After an avalanche of backlash, Raiders owner Mark Davis took responsibility for the tweet, saying he wouldn’t remove it because it had already been made public.
“I thought that was a strong statement,” Davis told the Associated Press in a telephone interview.
Davis explained that he was driving at the time the verdict was announced and heard Floyd’s brother Philonise Floyd make a statement that “we can all breathe again,” which is why he decided to use a similar message to the team’s response.
“It said a lot about everything,” said Davis. ‘I thought it was something we could all breathe again. Justice was served. We still have a lot of work to do on social justice and police brutality. But justice is served today. “
Davis apologized if the Raiders’ tweet insulted Floyd’s family.
“It’s a difficult situation. I feel bad that it was taken in a way that it was not meant to be. That can only be my fault for not explaining it, ”he said.
After Chauvin’s verdict – in which a jury found him guilty of unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter – the NFL was among the various sports leagues and teams to release statements.
The NFL pledged in part to “continue to help our society move towards a more equal and fairer future” and “to remain committed to the important work needed to bring about positive change in our society.”
The competition has not publicly discussed the Raiders’ Twitter post.