Raiders owner says ‘I can breathe’ tweet posted after Derek Chauvin verdict was his
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty Tuesday on all three counts for the killing of George Floyd last year, leading to reactions in all parts of the country.
Political leaders, celebrities, athletes and many others took to social media to share their thoughts on the verdict.
The Las Vegas Raiders retweeted a message from the NFL expressing remorse for Floyd’s family and saying it was committed to a “more equal and just tomorrow.” The Raiders also retweeted offensive tackle Brandon Parker, who wrote “justice is finally served!”
Then the Raiders tweeted their own message, which infuriated nearly everyone.
The message said: “I can breathe 4-20-2021,” which played off the words uttered by Floyd shortly before his death: “I can’t breathe.”
Las Vegas was roundly criticized for the tweet (more on that below), which apparently was authored by owner Mark Davis.
“That’s my tweet. That was me,” Davis told Ed Graney of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “I don’t want anyone in the organization taking heat. I take full responsibility for that.”
The Athletic’s Tashan Reed spoke with Davis, who said he got the quote from Floyd’s brother, Philonise.
Davis said he was unaware that some who supported the New York police wore T-shirts that said “I Can Breathe” after the killing of Eric Garner in 2014.
“Let me say this right off the bat: I was not aware of that. Absolutely not,” Davis told Reed. “I had no idea of that. That’s a situation that I was not aware of. I can see where there could be some negativity towards what I said based on that.”
The reaction to the tweet was immediate as it went viral for all the wrong reasons. Here is a very small sample of what was said:
