Yesterday, Judge Cahill shared the jury's verdict in Derek Chauvin's trial for the murder of George Floyd. Chauvin was found guilty on all three counts against him including manslaughter and murder. Many rejoiced that justice was, at the very least, partially served by the fact he was proven guilty.
Some of the responses were tone-deaf (i.e. Nancy Pelosi's) but it was a tweet from the official Raiders account that made plenty of folks upset. "I Can Breathe 4-20-21," a post on the Twitter account reads. LeBron James took to Twitter where he was in awe that this was deemed an appropriate response in support of George Floyd's family. "This is real???? Nah man this ain't it at all. The F^%K," he wrote.
Mark Davis, the owner of Las Vegas Raiders, responded to the criticism that he received, claiming that it was solely his idea, not the social media team. He said he "meant no disrespect" to the family of George Floyd, especially since he said he was echoing George Floyd's brother, Philonise Floyd's sentiment regarding the verdict.
"I felt that was a powerful statement," Davis said. "Today was a day where I can breathe, and we can all breathe again because justice was served. But we have a lot of work to do still on social justice and police brutality."
He added that he was unaware that this term was used by members of the NYPD after the death of Eric Garner in 2014. "It's a tough situation," Davis told the AP. "I feel bad it was taken in a way it wasn't meant to be done. That can only be my fault for not explaining it."
The tweet remains on the Raiders official Twitter page.