Opinion: A Year After George Floyd’s Murder

One year ago, Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd. With those eight words, America, once again, pulled back the curtains on its disturbing and rather obvious history. Now, since Full Press Coverage is a sports site, I will attempt to approach this from a sports angle. Yet, make no mistake, as a Black man, that video sits heavy on my heart and I will not embed it within this op/ed. If you haven’t seen it footage, Google exists, please use it for that purpose. Meanwhile, the sports world, in various forms showed who many athletes are.

Upfront

Before the murder of George Floyd, LeBron James, Steve Kerr, Dwayne Wade all actively use their mammoth platforms to further dialogues and promote racial justice. As the face of the NBA, James takes matters upon himself that some actively shied away from during their playing career. Looking at you, Michael Jordan. Wade, in earnest, pushes dialogue at every opportunity concerning racial justice. Yet, the most surprising one of the three remains Steve Kerr. A White millionaire, coaching an NBA team, taking time to give a thoughtful opinion regarding Black Americans will always be a welcomed sight.

Honest

For every LeBron, and DWade, what disappoints me is the number of athletes speaking isn’t nearly unanimous. If we’re honest, I don’t expect Major League Baseball to embrace wide-reaching change. In a sport where only 7.7 percent of players are Black and it fails to connect to a diverse potential player base, what else would you expect? With that said, the NFL and NBA to varying degrees have attempted to address racism, social justice and problems affecting Black people. Yet, what bothers me is the lack of numbers. This needed to be nearly all of the Black players taking a stand, speaking out, saying/doing anything. In all honesty, seemingly every day, people that look like them, like us, will never go home again. Is it fear, ignorance or obliviousness? We all know someone that died via violence. I’m sure that athletes know more. Throwing soundbytes and disappearing isn’t the move.

Assessment

For all of the criticism leveled at athletes, the fact remains they’ve done more to address social justice than the average American. And no, money isn’t the only aspect. Say something. How many of you sat by quietly while everyone from Eric Garner, Walter Scott, and the ever-growing list died without a response? Granted, athletes possess huge platforms will millions of fans. However, those fans can affect their community.

Reality

I didn’t personally know George Floyd. Yet, I do understand where it’s like to be Black in the United States. Many in the sports world do. George Floyd died a year ago. We still live. The sports world, the human world, all of us, need to figure out how to fix this mess that continues to plague America. Despite their flaws, many athletes tread where most people can’t/wodon’t. Follow their lead.