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Sports, entertainment worlds reacts to George Floyd killing, police violence, protests

(Hiram Garcia/Nbc/Nbcu Photo Bank Via Getty Images)

Amid the Coronoavirus shutdowns, many sports leagues and stars have taken to social media to respond to the killing of George Floyd, the topic of police violence and the protests and reaction to those protests.

Jaguars’ owner Shad Khan’s op-ed was the most comprehensive statement by an NFL owner. On Saturday as protests were held across the country, the NFL posted this on their social media channels:

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Not every team chose to make a statement on social media. Two franchises remained silent. The Bengals and the Cowboys.

It should be pointed out that the Bengals No. 1 draft pick, quarterback Joe Burrow did make a statement on social media:

Major League Baseball tweeted out a re-affirmation of a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to racism.

Major League Soccer tweeted out support of American soccer star DeAndre Yedlin, who had earlier tweeted about his grandfather saying that he was glad he wasn’t living in the United States right now because of fears of policy brutality against minorities.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson took to Instagram in a video to ask the president for more leadership, saying, “Where is our compassionate leader? The leader who unifies and inspires our country at our most painful time when we need it the most.”

But perhaps no athlete has been embroiled in more controversy than Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who said in an interview on Yahoo! Finance, “I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States,” Brees began, adding that the national anthem reminds him of his grandfathers, who served in the armed forces during World War II. “In many cases, it brings me to tears thinking about all that has been sacrificed, and not just in the military, but for that matter, those throughout the civil rights movements of the ’60s, and all that has been endured by so many people up until this point.”

On Thursday, Brees apologized, but not before a number of current and former NFL players fired back on social media. Also responding, NBA superstar LeBron James.

Brees’ apology was well received by his Saints teammates, including DeMario Davis, who said this on CNN on Thursday.

The NFL followed up their earlier posts with this Twitter thread on Thursday:


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