Published 11:22 IST, May 29th 2020
Colin Kaepernick tweets ‘Rest in Power George Floyd’ after Minneapolis police killing
Former San Francisco 49ers' QB Colin Kaepernick posted a strong message on Twitter, reacting to George Floyd's murder by a police officer in Minneapolis.
Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick sent a strong message on social media after the tragic death of George Floyd. The 46-year-old unarmed African-American was brutally killed by a police officer right on the streets of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The George Floyd death at the hands of a police officer prompted massive protests across the United States, especially in Minneapolis. Several NFL and NBA stars took to social media to express their disgust over the tragedy.
Colin Kaepernick on George Floyd death
Colin Kaepernick, who garnered national attention after opting to kneel during the national anthem in 2016, wrote a strong message on Twitter, reacting to George Floyd. Colin Kaepernick opened his short message saying: "When civility leads to death, revolting is the only logical reaction." He ended his tweet with, "Rest in Power George Floyd."
As mentioned above, Colin Kaepernick opted to kneel during the national anthem in 2016 to protest against police brutality and racial profiling by the authorities in the United States. His actions generally led to polarising reactions the country and Colin Kaepernick was even released by the San Francisco 49ers. He is yet to play in the NFL since 2016 and recently even conducted a private workout session in a bid to sign a contract with an NFL franchise ahead of the upcoming season.
George Floyd death: LeBron James brings Colin Kaepernick kneeling incident back to the fray
Kaepernick, who has been an activist for equality of African-Americans' rights in the United States, was brought back to the limelight in relation to the George Floyd death after Lakers star LeBron James shared a side-by-side image of Colin Kaepernick kneeling and the Minneapolis officer kneeling on Floyd's neck. The video, which went viral on social media on Tuesday, showed the police officer, later identified to be Derek Chauvin, choking Floyd by pressing his knee onto his neck. Floyd struggled for several minutes before turning "motionless" and "silent". He was pronounced dead that night.
On Tuesday, several cities across the United States saw mass protests by the African-American communities. In Minneapolis, the intersection where Floyd was murdered, saw a mass protest where the protesters marched towards the Minneapolis Police Department's 3rd Precinct. There the silent protest turned into a riot with several men vandalising the police station and the vehicles. The four identified police officers - Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng - were fired by the Minneapolis Police Department on Tuesday.
Floyd's death comes just three months after the brutal killing of Ahmaud Arbery, another unarmed African-American who was killed by two men. Arbery was shot and killed by two men (one a former police officer) while on a jog in his in Brunswick, Georgia neighbourhood. More than three months after the incident, reports stated the two men (father-son duo) were arrested by the authorities and charged with murder.
Updated 12:01 IST, May 29th 2020