Why that Oakland Raiders Tweet Never Should Have Happened

NFLMatthew Ortiz

Today we watched the city of Minneapolis officially convict former police officer Derek Chauvin on all three charges for his role in murdering George Floyd 11 months ago. Chauvin was found guilty of 2nd degree murder, 3rd degree murder, and 2nd degree manslaughter; potentially facing decades of prison time, with sentencing to take place in about eight weeks.

Naturally, the nation rejoiced at the news of this conviction, with thousands of people hitting the streets in Minneapolis to praise the justice being served, as well as millions on social media voicing their relief and opinions. We then saw corporations making their performative activism statements about the progress that this verdict brings, and the next steps to come. Even the NFL made such a statement, despite its hypocritical position as Colin Kaepernick is still not on a football team after his national anthem protests in 2017.

But somehow, one organization decided to go too far in their social media post to pander to the Black Lives Matter movement. That organization was the Oakland Raiders.

At 7:30 PM, just over two hours after this historic prosecuting victory, the Raiders twitter page posted an image that plainly read “I CAN BREATHE”.

In case you may not understand how disrespectful a post like this is, allow me to try contextualizing it for you.

In the gruesome video of the 8 minutes and 46 second sequence, the phrase “I Can’t Breathe” was one of the last statements pleaded by George Floyd while he was being murdered by Derek Chauvin’s knee pressed on his neck. That phrase was also similarly the final words of Eric Garner in 2014; an unarmed black man who was choked to death by police in Staten Island, New York City. “I Can’t Breathe” was more than Garner’s last words; it became a mantra that is still chanted at protests against police brutality today. It serves as a statement not only eulogizing Eric Garner’s legacy, but also encompassing the frustrations and overwhelming feelings that the black community has in times like these when dealing with the police.

The Raiders twitter account posting the phrase “I Can Breathe” is more than likely meant to praise this ruling that found Derek Chauvin guilty, and/or imply a sense of relief with this news.

However, for starters, while you “Can Breathe” in this situation, George Floyd will never again get that same privilege. This verdict holds Derek Chauvin accountable for his role as a police officer in killing an unarmed black man, but it does anything but resurrect George Floyd’s life. So for the Raiders to post this statement is simply insensitive. But then there’s the recent history attached to that very phrase of “I Can Breathe”, and its direct impact on the Black Lives Matter movement.

On December 3rd, 2014, after months of protests regarding Eric Garner being murdered by the NYPD, the New York grand jury ruled not to indict officer Daniel Pantaleo for choking Garner to death on camera. Following plenty more protests in the streets of New York City responding to this ruling, on December 19th, we watched counter-protesters marching in front of city hall supporting the NYPD with phrases including “Blue Lives Matter”, “Don’t resist arrest”, and the most important of all, “I Can Breathe, thanks to the NYPD”.

This “I Can Breathe” phrase in 2014 served as a clear attack on Eric Garner’s remembrance, as well as mocking the Black Lives Matter movement as a whole. So when the Oakland Raiders post that same phrase today after George Floyd’s killer is brought to justice, whether they intended to or not, it works to practically spit in the face of the very movement that the NFL team is going out of its way to dramatically support.

Now the Raiders owner, Mark Davis, has since come out to take full responsibility for this post. He was quoted saying, “That’s my tweet. That was me. I don’t want anyone in the organization taking heat. I take full responsibility for that.” Davis went on to say that the phrase “I Can Breathe” was inspired by a quote from George Floyd’s brother saying “Today, we are able to breathe again”. When the owner was later told about the NYPD supporters wearing “I Can Breathe” t-shirts seven years ago, he claimed to have been unaware of this history, and apologized if the statement offended people.

There is no room for this to be a teachable moment.

Mark Davis had no business posting this egregious statement on his team’s social media page. He takes full responsibility, but anyone in their right mind would have read this before posting it and noticed the offensive issues. This not only makes the organization’s owner and the public relations team look bad, but it makes the Raiders team and fanbase as a whole look bad as well. We even saw “Raiders Nation” denounce these statements as offensive, and try separating their fandom from these shameful words.

In a time like this where the black community has a legitimate fear to even have hope in a trial like this, which comes due to years of similar cases showing that the judicial system does not hold police officers accountable for killing innocent black lives, Mark Davis should be absolutely ashamed of himself for letting this graphic be shared. It’s obvious that every corporation wants to quickly be vocal in a situation like this one to show solidarity and get social media engagements. But when those engagements come at the detriment of the very community you are attempting to support, you are obviously doing it wrong.