NBA star LeBron James, and NFL players Odell Beckham and Colin Kaepernick, are among a list of athletes speaking out on the death of Minneapolis man George Floyd, who lost his life this week from injuries suffered during an altercation with police officers on Monday.
Floyd died on Monday after he was arrested that day in Minneapolis. His death became a national scandal after video of the arrest showed an officer pinning the man down with a knee to the neck. The man, who is not resisting in the video, can be heard telling officers that he can’t breathe.
By Tuesday, the four officers involved in the arrest were fired by Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo and Mayor Jacob Frey.
But the incident became a rallying call for many athletes. LeBron James, for instance, paired an image of the arrest with a picture of Colin Kaepernick with a caption reading, “This is why.”
Other athletes including former NBA player Stephen Jackson, NFL stars Odell Beckham Jr. and DeMarcus Lawrence, NBA stars Jaylen Brown and Donovan Mitchell, and Basketball Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie, also jumped to social media to speak out on the incident.
Palmer posted an additional tweet exclaiming “FUCK THE POLICE.”
According to ESPN, on his Instagram stories feed, Kaepernick also shared the image juxtaposing his kneeling photo with the photo of Floyd’s arrest.
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