- By Ely Marquez
- (General Dispatch) – On the 20th of this month, the social network Twitter overflowed with a wave of attacks and clear signs of disagreement with a tweet published by the official account of the NFL team; Las Vegas Raiders, which through an image of white letters and black background, expressed: “I can Breathe 4-20-21”.
- Yesterday was officially announced the verdict on Dereck Chauvin, convicted of murder and involuntary manslaughter, for causing the death of George Floyd last May 25, 2020, in Powderhorn, in the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
- The quoted tweet refers to Floyd’s last words minutes before his death: “I can’t breathe”, when the police officer Chauvin kept his knee pressed against Floyd’s neck, making it difficult for him to breathe and minutes later causing his death.
- Davis was driving at the time he heard Chauvin’s verdict, along with the words of Floyd’s brother, Philonise: “we can all breathe again,” words that resonated with Davis and prompted him to celebrate justice through a tweet titled: “I can breathe.”
- In this way, Davis before the negative response to his publication openly acknowledged that the statement on the social network Twitter, was nothing more than his idea, as he thought the phrase “said a lot” and would evoke a feeling of tranquility to see justice figure in a case that caused so much commotion nationwide.
- According to a telephone interview with The Associated Press, Davis said, “It said a lot about everything. I thought it was something we could all breathe again. Justice was served. We still have a lot of work to do on social justice and police brutality. But justice was done today.”
- Although the tweet was intensely rebuked, it was pinned to the account for approximately two hours after it was posted. The businessman and owner of the sports franchise noted that he would not delete the tweet, but regrets his insult to any Floyd family members.
- On the other hand, Davis noted that he was totally unaware that the expression “I can breathe” had been popular among those affiliated with the police in the 2014 Eric Garner case in New York, but that all this was interpreted in a way contrary to what he expected and wished to express.
Adittional Infromation:
Breitbart: Raiders Owner Refuses to Take Down Controversial George Floyd Tweet
NY Post: Raiders slammed for controversial George Floyd tweet: ‘Delete this’
