Reactions to the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota continue to pour in. One of the latest comes from Brian Flores, a Black man and head coach of the Miami Dolphins. The statement was posted to Twitter by the Dolphins Twitter page.
In his statement, Flores recalls the backlash issued to Colin Kaepernick as he kneeled before games as people believed he was being disrespectful to the flag. “The idea that players were kneeling in support of social justice was something some people couldn’t wrap their head around,” Flores wrote.
“Most recently, I’ve had conversations about incentivizing teams for hiring minorities,” Flores said in his statement. “Again, there was some outrage in the media and talks that this would cause division amongst coaches, executives, and ownership. I bring these situations up because I haven’t seen the same OUTRAGE from people of influence when the conversation turns to Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and most recently George Floyd. Many people who broadcast their opinions on kneeling or on the hiring of minorities don’t seem to have an opinion on the recent murders of these young black men and women. I think many of them QUIETLY say that watching George Floyd plead for help is one of the more horrible things they have seen, but it’s said amongst themselves where no one can hear. Broadcasting THAT opinion clearly is not important enough.”
You can read the full statement below.