Legendary NBA player, Michael Jordan, has vocally supported the protests that have swept the US following the death of George Floyd.
Floyd, an African-American man, was arrested by Minneapolis police on Monday, May 25th, for reportedly using a counterfeit $20 note in a store. While being detained, Derek Chauvin - a 19 year veteran of the force - knelt on his neck for eight minutes, which resulted in him losing consciousness, and later passing away.
Protests, both peaceful and violent, have since broken out across the country, with people demanding that all four officers involved be brought to justice.
Jordan, who has previously been criticized for failing to comment on political issues, said that he was "deeply saddened, truly pained and plain angry," in a rousing statement posted to his social media accounts.
"I see and feel everyone's pain, outrage and frustration. I stand with those who are calling out the ingrained racism and violence toward people of colour in our country. We have had enough," he continued.
"I don't have the answers, but our collective voices show strength and the inability to be divided by others. We must listen to each other, show compassion and empathy and never turn our backs on senseless brutality. We need to continue peaceful expressions against injustice and demand accountability. Our unified voice needs to put pressure on our leaders to change our laws, or else we need to use our vote to create systemic change. Every one of us needs to be part of the solution, and we must work together to ensure justice for all.
My heart goes out to the family of George Floyd and to the countless others whose lives have been brutally and senselessly taken through acts of racism and injustice."
Jordan, who is now the owner of the Charlotte Hornets, has been condemned in the past for not using his influence and platform to speak up about racial injustice. He infamously said, "Republicans buy sneakers, too," after refusing to endorse an African-American Democrat against an incumbent Republican politician with a history of racist behavior in a 1990 Senate race.
He has since claimed that the comment was not meant to be taken seriously - a fact that he corroborated in his recent Netflix documentary, The Last Dance.
On Friday it was revealed that Chauvin had been detained and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. He was arrested by the state’s bureau of criminal apprehension.
Floyd's family has since released a statement calling Chauvin's arrest a "welcome but overdue step on the road to justice” and added that members “expected a first-degree murder charge" - which they still demand.
"The pain that the black community feels over this murder and what it reflects about the treatment of black people in America is raw and spilling out on to streets across [the country]," the statement added.
The statement concluded by saying:
"Today, George Floyd's family is having to explain to his children why their father was executed by police on video. It's essential that the City closely examines and changes its policing policies and training procedures to correct for the lack of proper field supervision; the use of appropriate, non-lethal restraint techniques; the ability to recognize medical signs associated with the restriction of airflow, and the legal duty to seek emergency medical care and stop a civil rights violation."
Under Minnesota law, a first-degree murder charge would require prosecutors to prove Chauvin’s actions were willful and premeditated.
In footage of the arrest, George Floyd can be heard pleading for help - repeatedly telling officers that he couldn't breathe. He then became unresponsive during the arrest and was later pronounced dead.
Watch a news report on protests in Minneapolis below, where a white CNN journalist describes how differently he was treated by police at the demonstration:
