The NFL and Roc Nation recently came together and unveiled a new PSA video around O’Shae Terry, a 24-year old Black man who was shot and killed in Arlington, Texas, by a member of the Arlington police department. The PSA debuted during the Monday Night Football matchup between the Atlanta Falcons and the Green Bay Packers this week. It is narrated by Terry’s mother, Sherley Woods, and features Terrence Harmon, who was in the passenger seat of the car when Terry was shot.
“O’Shae was taken from us two years ago, and not a day goes by where I don’t think of him and his spirit,” Woods said in a statement. “That day changed our life forever. My mother, a stroke survivor, still asks to see O’Shae every day, unaware he’s no longer with us. My children grieve on a daily basis. As a family, we are devastated by not ever being able to see O’Shae again. No mother should have to experience the heartbreak of having their child murdered at the hands of the individuals tasked with the protection of others – yet too many mothers have.”
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The video is a little over two and a half minutes long and tells the story of what happened that day. It also shows that the officer was fired and indicted for the shooting of Terry. “I am sincerely grateful to the NFL and Roc Nation for honoring my son and telling his story,” Woods said. “The officers that took him from us also took an oath to protect and serve – they shouldn’t be able to kill with impunity. They must be held accountable for their criminal acts, they must be prosecuted and sentenced – it is the humane and moral thing to do.”
The PSA by NFL and Roc Nation is the sixth of its kind, and for the NFL, the PSA falls under its Inspire Change initiative, which is a platform focused on the collaboration of the league and players to combat social injustice. “Current and ongoing events have shown us that our country continues to face racial injustices,” Anna Isaacson, Senior Vice President of Social Responsibility at the NFL, said in a statement. “The goal of this and other NFL Inspire Change PSAs is to share the stories of victims and raise awareness of systemic racism. We hope that O’Shae’s story reminds us all that we must come together to create change.”
