Miami Heat players of the past and present react to death of George Floyd
Former Miami Heat guard Ray Allen was among the many in the sporting world to react to the death of George Floyd.
Floyd died Monday after being in custody of four Minneapolis police officers. Video of the incident captured one of the officers with his knee over Floyd's neck for several minutes. Floyd, who is black, was arrested on charges of forgery. He is the latest minority to die after altercations with police. Earlier this month, former Heat guard Dwyane Wade spoke on the Georgia man shot and killed by a retired police officer while jogging in a suburban neighborhood.
"Why does this keep happening? What is wrong with this country that we continue to watch the police kill black men and nothing is done about it," Allen wrote on his Instagram page. "Whether innocent or guilty this man was already in handcuffs. There was no need to keep his knee in this man's throat. I just don't understand!"
Many athletes, highlighted by LeBron James, used the situation as opportunity to show support of Colin Kaepernick, who created controversy over his kneeling for the national anthem to protest police brutality against minorities.
"Do you understand NOW!!??!!??," James wrote in an Instagram post captioned next to a picture of Kaepernick beside one of the officers involved. "Or is it still blurred to you??
Heat captain Udonis Haslem was angered by situation but also expressed his support of good police officers.
"I have close friends and family in law enforcement," Haslem wrote on Instagram. "This doesn't apply to everyone. There's alot of shitty people in this world, but I'm the first to tell you there's some damn good ones wearing that badge and we appreciate y'all."
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