Joe Burrow responds to George Floyd's death: 'The black community needs our help'
Cincinnati Bengals rookie quarterback Joe Burrow is the latest NFL star to speak out against police brutality and racism following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on Monday.
The 23-year-old Burrow is using his new stardom to take a stand on social media, and he tweeted the following to his 357,000 Twitter followers on Friday:
Floyd, 46, an African-American man, died Monday after being restrained by police for alleged forgery. A white police officer put immense pressure on Floyd's neck with his knee as he laid on the ground fighting for his life.
A witness video surfaced showing Floyd begging for his life and telling the officer he couldn't breathe. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
According to KMSP-TV's Theo Keith in Minneapolis-St. Paul, the offending officer, Derek Chauvin, has reportedly been taken into custody as of Friday.
As a result of Floyd's death, many current and former pro athletes — including Carson Wentz, LeBron James, Colin Kaepernick and others — have spoken out against racial injustice and police brutality in support of Floyd and his family.
Actions normally speak louder than words, however, and protests have broken out in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area (and across the U.S.), with rioting and looting reported. Multiple Target stores, Wendy's, Apple, Dollar Tree, Walgreens and many other establishments have been completely destroyed amid the protests, many of which were caught on video.
This isn't the first time Burrow has spoken up for what is just. The former LSU quarterback gave an extremely emotional Heisman speech about things many don't think twice about — poverty and hunger — while breaking into tears on the stage. Burrow pointed out the extreme poverty in southeast Ohio, where he grew up.
That speech alone raised a half-million dollars for charity.
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