Philonise Floyd issued a statement of support on Wednesday, April 21, for the Las Vegas Raiders after the organization received backlash for a tweet following the conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for murdering his brother George Floyd.
“<em>On behalf of our family, I would like to extend our deepest gratitude to the Las Vegas Raiders organization and its leadership for their support of our family and for our nation’s ongoing pursuit of justice and equality for all. Now, more than ever, we must come together as one and continue on in this fight. For the first time in almost a year, our family has taken a breath. And I know that goes for so many across the nation and globe, as well. Let’s take this breath together in honor of my big brother who couldn’t. Let’s do it for George</em>,” Philonise Floyd said.
The <a href="https://twitter.com/Raiders/status/1384650781672939521" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Raiders’ tweet</a>, sent late Tuesday afternoon, read: “I CAN BREATHE 4-20-21.” Floyd told officers, “I can’t breathe,” more than 20 times before he died when Chauvin pressed his knee into the back of Floyd’s neck for about nine minutes last May.