George Floyd family responds to Raiders tweet
Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd, said on Wednesday he has no issues with the Raiders “I Can Breathe” social media message posted shortly after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all three counts in the murder of George Floyd.
In a statement Philonise Floyd released on Wednesday, the family expressed thanks to the Raiders and owner Mark Davis for the support shown in the tweet.
The statement read:
“On behalf of our family, I would like to extend our deepest gratitude to the Las Vegas Raiders organization and its leadership for their support of our family and for our nation’s ongoing pursuit of justice and equality for all. Now, more than ever, we must come together as one and continue on in this fight.
“For the first time in almost a year, our family has taken a breath. And I know that goes for so many across the nation and globe, as well. Let’s take this breath together in honor of my big brother who couldn’t. Let’s do it for George.”
Davis and the Raiders created a social media firestorm in the aftermath of the tweet, with some people misinterpreting its intentions. Davis took full responsibility for the message and, while expressing sorrow if he offended the family, didn’t feel the need to apologize or take the statement down given its intended supportive nature.
In fact, Davis said he took the lead from Philonise Floyd, who declared on behalf of the family after the verdicts were reached, “Today, we are able to breathe again.”
Davis said he was echoing those sentiments with his tweet.
“I think justice was served,” Davis said. “It’s rare I make statements about anything. If I thought it offended the (Floyd) family, I would feel very badly and apologize. Other than that, I’m not apologizing. I honesty believe after listening to Philonise, this is a day that we can all breathe.
“We still have a lot of work to do. It’s not the end. But this is definitely a step in the right direction.”
Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on Twitter.
