Saturday morning, professional wrestler Roman Reigns showed support for the Black Lives Matter movement. He called for justice for George Floyd, the African-American man who died while in police custody. Four officers held Floyd down, including Derek Chauvin who kneeled on the man’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.
Reigns tweeted his support and declared that there is no grey area in this situation. He said that racism is wrong and that parents need to teach their children this every day. One of Nelson Mandela’s quotes says that no one is born hating another person for “the color of their skin.” Reigns’ tweet agreed with this quote.
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“Racism is wrong. There is no grey (sic) area here. IT IS WRONG. Teach your kids this everyday, so we can rid ourselves and our future of this life ending disease. #JusticeForGeorgeFlyod #BlacklivesMatters,” Reigns tweeted on Saturday.
Following Floyd’s death, there have been several protests and riots around the country. Millions are calling for change, as well as for the four officers to be charged with murder. Chauvin is facing charges of third-degree murder and manslaughter, but the other three officers currently face no charges. The Minneapolis Police Department fired the four men following the incident on May 25.
Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, including two minutes and 43 seconds when Floyd was nonresponsive. After being transported to Hennepin County Medical Center, Floyd was pronounced dead. Prior to his death, Floyd repeatedly told Chauvin and the other officers that he could not breathe.
Several prominent figures have made statements about Floyd’s death and the “systemic racism” that led to this fatal incident. For example, LeBron James posted a photo showing former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeling on the sidelines. “Do you understand NOW!!??!!?? Or is it still blurred to you??” he wrote in his Instagram caption.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey also held a news conference earlier in the week to discuss the incident. He said that Chauvin had “failed” when he kneeled on Floyd’s neck. He also recognized that there is still considerable progress to be made in addressing racism in the country.
“Being black in America should not be a death sentence,” Frey said. “For five minutes, we watched a white officer press his knee into a black man’s neck. Five minutes. When you hear someone calling for help, you’re supposed to help. This officer failed in the most basic, human sense. What happened on Chicago and 38th last night is awful. It was traumatic. It serves a reminder of how far we have to go.”
