Once the ruling was announced, sports leagues and teams released statements regarding the case as well as systemic racism and social injustice in the country. Las Vegas was among that group, but criticism immediately began flooding in after the team shared a graphic with the phrase “I can breathe.”
MORE: Sports world reacts as Derek Chauvin found guilty in death of George Floyd
Floyd could be seen on video saying “I can’t breathe” more than 20 times as Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck. Many Twitter users ripped the Raiders for sending out a disrespectful, tone-deaf tweet. Others noted that the phrase “I can breathe” was previously used in pro-police protests in New York following the 2014 killing of Eric Garner.
But Floyd’s brother Philonise wasn’t a part of that negative response. He issued a statement of support for the Raiders on Wednesday:
Raiders owner Mark Davis told The Athletic’s Tashan Reed on Tuesday that the wording of the tweet was inspired by Philonise Floyd, who said after the guilty verdict, “Today, we are able to breathe again.” Davis was not aware of the connection between police supporters and “I can breathe.”
Despite calls to delete the tweet, Davis said he had no plans to take it down.
