After a year that featured racial protests not seen across the country since the Rodney King riots of the nineties, and intense scrutiny of police, justice was served. Following the guilty verdict of Derek Chauvin on April 20, celebrities like Lebron James, Beyonce, and others reacted on Twitter. Their responses were all very similar, happy that justice was served and pushing for more progress against police brutality. While these responses are thoughtful in intent, they forget another victim of this tragedy, Floyd’s family. His daughter who will grow up fatherless, and his brother Philonise Floyd, a man who had to bury his kin. The actions of the Minnesota Timberwolves this week were incredibly pleasing to see.

The Timberwolves were in Floyd’s hometown of Houston on April 27, to face off against the Houston Rockets. While the game featured two squads with below average winning percentages, what transpired off the court after the game was heartwarming. Last Friday’s game against the Sacramento Kings was dedicated to Floyd’s family, and the game ball was presented to them. According to The Athletic‘s Jon Krawczynski, star center Karl Anthony Towns, shooting guard Anthony Edwards and small forward Josh Okogie all met with Floyd’s family after the game.

“After the win, KAT, Edwards and Okogie met with George Floyd’s family, who live in Houston, and gave them the game ball from the Sacramento win, which they dedicated to Floyd and his family,” read Krawczynski’s tweet.

“I think for all of us, we all felt that this game was bigger than basketball,” Towns said. “This was a moment that wasn’t meant for us. This was meant for our city and for George Floyd’s family. I think everyone in America right now is grieving with them and sending our prayers, blessings and love towards them. They need it for countless days.”

The Timberwolves organization had an incredible statement of their own as well, “We are hopeful that today’s decision will serve as a step forward, but it does not ease the physical and emotional pain that continues in an environment where systemic racism exists. To our BIPOC community, the Timberwolves and Lynx remain committed to influencing change, promoting impactful action, and using our platform to help heal and unite in pursuit of liberty and justice FOR ALL.” This commitment is incredibly inspiring and reminds all of us how sad of a situation this truly is.

The Las Vegas Raiders were on the brunt of controversy following their tweet in regards to Derek Chauvin‘s trial.

Chauvin is a former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd. Floyd died on May 25, 2020, after Chauvin held his knee against the handcuffed Floyd’s neck for nine minutes. Floyd repeatedly said that he could not breathe. On Tuesday, Chauvin was convicted of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.

Immediately after the conviction, the NFL and the teams released statements regarding the conviction. “Today’s outcome in the Derek Chauvin trial in Minneapolis does not undo the loss of life. Mr. George Floyd should be here with us today,” the statement said. “Our hearts remain with the Floyd family, and we understand the pain, anger, and frustration does not go away even when justice is delivered.”

“Importantly, even as we identify reasons for hope, we must continue to help move our society toward a more equal and just tomorrow,” the league said. “We are proud to partner with NFL players and clubs and remain committed to do the important work needed to make positive change in our society.”

As other teams released a statement regarding the conviction, the Raiders did something else that sparked controversy. The team released a photo with the words, “I can breathe,” and the date.

The photo was met with criticism by Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, who was vocal about it. James retweeted the Raiders tweet and wrote, “This is real???? Nah man this ain’t it at all,” the retweet said. “The F^%K!!!!”

Raiders owner Mark Davis defended the team’s social media post and said that it came from Floyd’s brother, Philonise, who said, “Today, we are able to breathe again.” Davis also offered an apology in case the Floyd family was offended. “If I offended the family, then I’m deeply, deeply disappointed,” Davis said.

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter by a jury on Tuesday afternoon. He was convicted based on his actions and role in the murder of George Floyd last year outside a convenience store.

After 10.5 hours of deliberation over a two-day period, the jury rendered its verdict. Chauvin faces a 40-year maximum sentence for the second-degree unintentional murder conviction, a 25-year sentence for third-degree murder and a 10-year sentence for second-degree manslaughter. The former police officer’s bail was revoked, and he will be officially sentenced in eight weeks.

Floyd’s death in the May of 2020 sparked a massive movement. The death of Floyd, who was Black, and the video that showed a white cop kneeling on Floyd’s neck for about nine minutes was excruciating and painful to watch. Anyone who watched that video literally watched a murder. However, the moment also became a turning point in the United States. It sparked a racial and social justice movement, with athletes and influential people in the sports world speaking up more than usual.

“One year ago, George Floyd was murdered, causing unimaginable pain and trauma for his family, the Minneapolis community, and communities across the nation,” the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx said in a joint statement. “Our deepest thoughts have been with the Floyd family since this unjust tragedy. Throughout our history, racial and social inequalities have been ingrained in our society.

“We are hopeful that today’s decision will serve as a step forward, but it does not ease the physical and emotional pain that continues in an environment where systemic racism exists.”

The Wolves dedicated Tuesday night’s game ball to Floyd’s family, according to Minnesota’s small forward Josh Okogie.

Floyd’s death prompted athletes to speak up about social and racial injustice. Former NBA player Stephen Jackson traveled to Minnesota last summer the week that Floyd was murdered. Jackson had been a long-time friend of Floyd. “I’m hurt, I’m angry, but I ain’t scared,” Jackson said during a very moving speech with Okogie and fellow T-Wolves player Karl-Anthony Towns by his side.

After such an emotional roller coaster, many believe that justice has finally been served. On Tuesday, LeBron James tweeted one simple world: “ACCOUNTABILITY.”

The NBA and National Basketball Players Association issued a joint statement Tuesday. “We are pleased that justice appears to have been served” while also adding that “there is much work to be done.” The WNBA said the verdict was “a step toward justice.”

Atlanta Hawks interim head coach Nate McMillan expressed doubts about whether his Hawks would have even suited up against the Magic Tuesday night had the verdict been different.

“We, as a league, we really didn’t know if we were going to play this game,” McMillan said. “I feel that the jury did their jobs. You got to hold everybody accountable for their actions. The jury found him guilty on all three charges. I thought they did their jobs.”

Individuals and representatives of teams and leagues spoke out about Tuesday’s verdict all over social media.

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was murdered when Minneapolis police officers responded to a call about a possible forgery at a convenience store. As officers tried to place Floyd under arrest and place him in the squad car, he tried to tell them that he was claustrophobic. That is when he ended up face-down in the street, handcuffed, with a white police officer’s knee on the back of his neck.

“I can’t breathe,” was muttered multiple times by Floyd before eventually going limp. Floyd was then taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. He was 46 years old.

Hopefully Chauvin’s trial provided the much-needed closure that our nation deserves.

The Minnesota Twins honored George Floyd’s memory, Minneapolis being the city where Geroge Floyd was killed, at 8:46, eight minutes, and 46 seconds being the time that an officer had his knee on Floyd’s neck, along with the St. Louis Cardinals during their game on Tuesday night.

This is the most recent in a series of racial justice protests that have been taking place across the MLB since the season restarted last week. While the MLB has stumbled in many areas regarding their return to play, most notably their lax approach to player safety and protocols in place if there is a COVID’19 outbreak, but it is the first major American sport back to play the players and staff have done a good job leading the way in calling for justice in addressing systematic racism and police brutality in the United States. While there still are critics of the protests especially kneeling during the national anthem, so far this has been a bright light in an otherwise shaky and uncertain start to the MLB season. I don’t expect these protests to stop or slow down, and they give off a surprising feel of importance and solidarity to games that have no fans.

San Antonio Spurs head coach Greg Popovich doesn’t mince words when he gives his opinion on various things. When talking about the President of the United States, that holds true. 

Popovich responded to the comments made by Donald Trump on the death of George Floyd. Popovich has been an outspoken critic of Trump during his presidency and in the wake of Floyd’s death, Popovich once again took the opportunity to comment on Trump and his handling of the situation facing the United States. “The thing that strikes me is that we all see this police violence and racism, and we’ve seen it all before, but nothing changes,” Popovich said. “That’s why these protests have been so explosive. But without leadership and an understanding of what the problem is, there will never be change. It’s unbelievable. If Trump had a brain, even if it was 99% cynical, he would come out and say something to unify people.”

Popovich is one of five NBA coaches who are a part of a committee established by the National Basketball Coaches Association who will try to pursue solutions in NBA cities on  racial injustice. 

The Spurs coach also commented on the protests as a whole, saying that although they are necessary, there are ways to go about it in a more organized fashion. “They are very necessary, but they need to be organized better,” he said. “It’s frustrating. When Dr. King did a protest, you knew when to show, when to come back the next day. But if you’re just organizing protests and everyone is coming and going in every direction, it doesn’t work that way. If it was nonviolent, they knew to be nonviolent, but this is muddled. More leadership would be very welcome so these incredible mass demonstrations can’t be used by people for other means. We can limit the bad, but only if things are organized better.”

Numerous athletes and celebrities across the country and the world have commented on the murder of George Floyd last week. Over the weekend, Michael Jordan expressed his thoughts on Floyd’s death. 

Jordan, someone who doesn’t typically speak on social issues, issued a statement on Sunday expressing his feelings. “I am deeply saddened, truly pained and plain angry. … I stand with those who are calling out the ingrained racism and violence toward people of color in our country. We have had enough,” he said.

The statement comes on the heels of protests that took place across the United States. Jordan went on to say that it is on Americans to unite as one collective group and listen to each other during these times. “I don’t have the answers, but our collective voices show strength and the inability to be divided by others,” he said. “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.”

Many NBA players, coaches and executives issued statements on social media regarding the protests this weekend.

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Max Kepler, the Minnesota Twins player, was raised in Germany for the greater portion of his young life. In Germany police officers wear green, unlike in the United States where they wear blue. When Keple posted a picture of himself wearing a ‘Blue Lives Matter’ mask, supporting the pro-police movement, he was not aware of how controversial it is. 

Kepler said in the response to the backlash he received for wearing the mask that he did not know what the blue stood for and was simply wearing it because of the coronavirus pandemic. In a post on his Instagram story, Kepler apologized. “I had no idea that mask had any underlying inferences — I simply thought it looked good. … I take complete responsibility for not knowing what I was wearing.”

Kepler’s post comes on the heels of Minneapolis police officers killing an unarmed black man, George Floyd, on Monday. 

Kepler’s team, the Twins, took to Twitter to share their sentiments regarding Floyd’s death, saying that they will continue to try and establish “one, all-inclusive Twins Territory, where everyone is protected, safe and welcome.”

Kepler has been playing for the Twins full-time since 2016.

Many athletes like LeBron James and Colin Kaepernick have already spoken out about the death of George Floyd on Monday when a Minneapolis police officer held his knee against Floyd’s neck and killed him in broad daylight. More members of the NFL community are now speaking out on Floyd’s death in Philadelphia Eagles quarterback and tight end, Carson Wentz and Zach Ertz.

Both players took to Twitter to express their thoughts on Floyd’s death Thursday night. Wentz took to Twitter first, he grew up about six hours away from Minneapolis in North Dakota.

Ertz posted soon after Wentz, sharing his thoughts on the situation.

Both players, specifically Wentz, have remained quiet during their respective careers when it comes to social issues. Back in 2017, when then teammate Malcolm Jenkins would raise his fist during the national anthem, showing his allegiance to Kaepernick and what he was fighting for, neither guy really commented on the issue. 

This is a step in the right direction, as so far, the majority of athletes who have spoken out on Floyd’s death have not been white. 

The University of Minnesota has come out and said that they will be severing its ties with the Minneapolis Police Department. The Minnesota Vikings have also issued a statement on the incident, sending their thoughts to Floyd’s family and friends. “We are deeply saddened by the loss of life that occurred Monday evening just blocks from our stadium. Everyone in our community deserves the right to feel protected and safe. Our thoughts are with the George Floyd family and all individuals who have been affected by this tragedy.”

On Tuesday, video surfaced of a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd and subsequently killing him. The release of this video had some notable athletes such as LeBron James livid as to how something like this can even take place. Four officers have since been fired amid public uproar. The University of Minnesota is now getting involved in the situation.

On Wednesday, the university made an announcement that was sent to students and staff saying that they will be severing ties with local police officials and that they will not be present at various university events, including football games. In her letter, university president Joan Gabel said that the university will not stand for this injustice. “Our hearts are broken after watching the appalling video capturing the actions of Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) officers against George Floyd leading to his tragic death. As a community, we are outraged and grief-stricken. I do not have the words to fully express my pain and anger and I know that many in our community share those feelings, but also fear for their own safety. This will not stand.”

Gabel’s letter comes on the heels of the university’s student body president Jael Kerandi issuing a letter calling for the university to do something. “We no longer wish to have a meeting or come to an agreement, there is no middle ground,” Kerandi said. “The police are murdering black men with no meaningful repercussions. This is not a problem of some other place or some other time. This is happening right here in Minneapolis.”

The University of Minnesota has said that the only services that they will be using from the Minneapolis Police Department is for explosive detection via K-9s. 

Colin Kaepernick was one of the first NFL players to speak out on police violence when he knelt during the national anthem during a preseason game while playing for the San Francisco 49ers in protest of police brutality in the United States. Kaepernick has not played in the NFL since 2016, but still is an activist for civil rights. 

With the death of George Floyd on Monday in Minneapolis, in which one police officer kneeled on Floyd’s neck subsequently killing him, there have been protests in Minneapolis, calling for justice in Floyd’s death. The protests have gotten violent, seeing confrontations between law enforcement and protestors in the days since video came out of Floyd’s death.

On Thursday, Kaepernick took to Twitter to express his thoughts on Floyd’s death. “When civility leads to death, revolting is the only logical reaction. The cries for peace will rain down, and when they do, they will land on deaf ears, because your violence has brought this resistance. We have the right to fight back! Rest in Power George Floyd.”

Kaepernick joins numerous other athletes to comment on Floyd’s death and although the four officers involved have since been fired, and the officer who was kneeling on Floyd’s neck, Derek Chauvin, was taken into custody on Friday. 

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On Monday, George Floyd was in an altercation with a Minneapolis police officer which led to the officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck, despite Floyd saying he could not breathe and eventually, he stopped moving. Floyd ended up dying at the age of 46. Video surfaced of the event on social media on Tuesday leading to a firestorm of responses, which included that from some notable professional athletes.

LeBron James posted a picture on his Instagram account which had a picture of the office on Floyd’s neck on one side and Colin Kaepernick kneeling on the other with the caption “Do you understand NOW!!??!!?? Or is it still blurred to you?? #StayWoke.” In September 2016, Kaepernick started taking a knee during the national anthem in protest of police brutality toward black people.

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https://www.instagram.com/p/CAq3fpCgyve/

James has been very vocal about issues of racial injustice in the past, sharing a post on Instagram after a video of the death of Ahmaud Arbery came to light a couple weeks ago.

Other athletes shared their thoughts on social media, including DeMarcus Lawrence, Donovan Mitchell, and Lisa Leslie.

The officers involved in Floyd’s death have since been fired, according to Mayor Jacob Frey, and the FBI and state law enforcement are investigating what took place.