Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons, like so many others, wants change.
Simmons spoke on Twitter on Friday night regarding the recent deaths of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery. Simmons voiced how people must become more comfortable with addressing the injustices and racism that affect black people around the country.
Floyd was killed by a police officer in Minneapolis on Monday as the officer pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck. The police were called because of an alleged forgery at a store.
Floyd dying at the hands of a police officer is only one unfortunate example of many black people being victimized by police violence.
On Friday, Derek Chauvin, the officer who killed Floyd, was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter, per a report from Erin Donaghue and and Graham Kates of CBS. Chauvin and the three other officers involved were fired Tuesday from the Minneapolis Police Department, per Joshua Rhett Miller of the New York Post.
The killing has led to demonstrations around the country, including in Minneapolis, as well as Houston, Atlanta and Brooklyn among others.
We are ALL accountable & we shouldn’t have to revisit tragedies like George Floyd or Ahmaud Arbery time & time again. Enough is enough.
— Ben Simmons (@BenSimmons25) May 30, 2020
Arbery, who lived in Georgia, was killed in February while he was jogging through a neighborhood called Satilla Shores.
He was chased after a man and his son who thought he had committed burglaries in the neighborhood. Gregory McMichael, the father, along with his son, Travis McMichael, were arrested and charged May 7 with murder and aggravated assault for the death of Arbery, per Brandon Baur and Mark Osborne of ABC News.
With Simmons speaking out, he is using his voice for causes that matter and need to be addressed. Simmons spoke out on racial profiling he experienced last August while at a casino in his home country of Australia.
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