In a statement, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said « there remains an urgent need for action » following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, while NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith sent a letter to players to address the pain of recent events.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement Saturday that « there remains an urgent need for action » following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, while NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith sent a letter to all players to address the current state of what he called a « hurting » country.
NFLPA president and Cleveland Browns center JC Tretter also shared a statement on Twitter in which he said that he has felt a « range of emotions from disbelief to anger » this week.
Floyd, who is black, died Monday after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, kneeled on his neck for several minutes. Floyd’s death has shaken the Minneapolis community and sparked protests in cities across the United States.
Chauvin was arrested Friday afternoon and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, local authorities announced.
« The NFL family is greatly saddened by the tragic events across our country, » Goodell said in his statement. « The protesters’ reactions to these incidents reflect the pain, anger and frustration that so many of us feel. »
Goodell expressed the NFL’s condolences to Floyd’s family, as well as those of Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, the cousin of Detroit Lions safety Tracy Walker.
