20 NFL teams tweeted about George Floyd but only the Bears got close to getting it right

So many of the statements were transparently worded to not offend — and missed the point entirely.

As tension mounts across the country in the wake of George Floyd dying after being pinned to the ground by the knee of a police officer for over eight minutes, many, but not all, NFL teams have released statements speaking out against… well, it really depends on the team.

The NFL’s PR people have been hard at work crafting these statements in a way that won’t offend any of their season-ticket holders who may get upset by things like pointing out that black people shouldn’t be murdered by law enforcement.

Some teams have been more careful than others. The Falcons are one of those teams. Atlanta released a statement from owner Arthur Blank that did not include references to any of the black men or women who have been killed as a result of racism. The statement did not mention law enforcement or police brutality, either. I’m not done: It somehow didn’t even make a direct reference to black people.

Some linguistic gymnastics allowed Blank to avoid those “pitfalls.” Here’s how he started things:

“A number of events over the last couple of weeks have reminded us again that the long, worthy quest for equal justice, civility and unity in America is far from over.”

Ah, yes, “a number of events.”

(For a more impressive linguistic feat, check out 49ers owner Jed York’s statement, which features some impressive use of the passive voice, which allows him to avoid placing the blame on anyone in particular: “Heinous acts have been committed,” York writes. By whom, you ask? Well, that’s a mystery.)

While Blank made no mention of the police brutality that led to his statement needing to be made, he did take time to admonish the “lawlessness” of rioting protesters while never directly acknowledging what led to the frustration and anger that cause it.

The Lions’ contribution to the dialogue may have been less effective. There was no written statement. Just a tweet jumping on the #BlackoutTuesday hashtag.

If you take a look at some of the replies to that innocuous tweet, you can see why teams have hesitated to make a meaningful statement. An empty showing of solidarity with black people, who make up 90% of your locker room? How dare you! 

Detroit’s tweet is useless, sure, but at least the team tweeted (or retweeted) something addressing what’s going on (and has been going on for centuries) in this country. The same can’t be said for a significant number of teams that have yet to release a statement as I type this. That group includes the Cowboys, Eagles, Giants, Buccaneers, Packers, Jets, Patriots, Bengals, Steelers, Jaguars, Texans and Broncos.

I’m not really surprised by the teams listed there, but the Eagles do stand out considering how many of the players have been so outspoken. Former Eagles Malcolm Jenkins and Chris Long were a few of the more prominent voices. And Carson Wentz was celebrated for the statement he made following George Floyd’s death.

That statement was retweeted by over 21,000 accounts. The Eagles’ official account was not one of them.

As for the teams that did release statements, many of them did not reference the issue that led to George Floyd’s murder: Police brutality. Only three teams referenced the issue directly: The Bears, Saints and Raiders. Of those three, only Chicago’s statement mentioned police violence against black people, specifically.

As for the content of the other statements, only six teams mentioned black people (Browns, Ravens, Rams, Dolphins, 49ers, Bears) and eight directly named any black people who have been killed as a result of racism (Dolphins, Ravens, Bills, Chiefs, Cardinals, Vikings, Saints and Panthers).

The Bears were the only team to hit the trifecta.

I also took note of which teams retweeted players’ comments on the matter. It’s important for teams to not only make statements but to also amplify the voices of their players, which, for the most part, haven’t been influenced by business or PR interests. Washington did not release a statement of its own but did retweet the comments of several players. No team was more active in that regard. The Bears, Vikings, Seahawks, Cardinals and Rams were the other teams that retweeted players. However, it’s worth pointing out the Rams’ lone retweet came from Cooper Kupp, who is white.

If you are interested in looking over these statements yourself, I’ve gathered them all here…

NFC East

Cowboys

None

Redskins

Retweeted players.

Eagles

None

Giants

None

NFC South

Panthers

Buccaneers

None

Falcons

Saints

NFC North

Bears

Packers

None

Lions

Vikings

NFC West

49ers

Seahawks

Cardinals

Rams

AFC East

Patriots

None

Dolphins

Jets

None

Bills

AFC North

Ravens

Bengals

None

Browns

Steelers

None

AFC South

Colts

Jaguars

None

Titans

None

Texans

None

AFC West

Chiefs

Raiders

Broncos

None

Chargers