Protests and demonstrations continue throughout the country following the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who died Monday in Minneapolis after a white police officer pressed his knee to the neck of Floyd for over 8 minutes. Video of the incident has since circulated throughout social media.
During Friday’s media availability, Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker wore a shirt that said the word “Brotherhood.” This prompted a question about his thoughts on the civil unrest in the wake of Floyd’s death.
“It’s super sad,” Butker said. “I can’t even get through that whole video. It’s very heartbreaking.”
While Butker hasn’t had an opportunity to speak with his teammates about Floyd’s death, it’s clear he’s been following the situation closely and had time to reflect on it.
“I think the biggest thing is bringing justice to those, the perpetrators,” Butker said. “It’s just an unfortunate situation, but that’s what we’re dealing with in our society right now. I think we have to figure out ways to hold people accountable. It is very sad. Obviously, I’d love to live in a world where that type of injustice wasn’t going on.”
The four officers involved in the incident have been fired by the Minneapolis Police Department. The officer, identified as Derek Chauvin, who pressed his knee to the neck of Floyd, was arrested on Friday on third-degree murder and manslaughter charges. While this remains an important step for getting justice in Floyd’s death, there is still much more to be done about the racial injustice going on daily in our society.
“At the end of the day, we’re all sinful people,” Butker said. “We need God in our lives and we need to be able to love one another as brothers — as members of the human race.”