US sports reacts to ex-police officer Chauvin's guilty verdict

“ACCOUNTABILITY,” tweeted the Los Angeles Lakers NBA professional in capital letters after the verdict was announced on Monday. In German that means something like accountability or responsibility. Shortly before, the jury in Minneapolis, Minnesota, found Chauvin guilty on all charges. NFL quarterback Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks wrote: “Love wins.” Japanese world-class tennis player Naomi Osaka, who has repeatedly supported the Black Lives Matter movement in recent months, wrote: “I wanted to write a tweet to celebrate the day, but then I was hit by sadness because we celebrating something that is as clear as day. The fact that we are holding our breath before the result says a lot about how much injustice has already occurred.” Many teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the New England Patriots and the New Orleans Saints and professional leagues such as the NFL, the NBA and the MLS also reacted to the verdict. They are pleased that justice has apparently been served, said the joint statement from NBA boss Adam Silver and the head of the NBPA players' union, Michele Roberts. But there is still a lot of work to do. Raiders with faux pass The tweet from the Las Vegas Raiders from the NFL caused criticism. After the verdict it was said: “I can breathe”. Team owner Mark Davis said he takes responsibility. He heard George Floyd's brother Philonise say "Today we are able to breathe again" and wanted to adopt this message. He did not know that the exclamation had been used by police supporters in another case of a black man killed by police officers. The 46-year-old Floyd died during an arrest in Minneapolis on May 25 last year. Videos documented how police officers pushed the unarmed man to the ground. Chauvin pressed his knee on Floyd's neck for a good nine minutes while Floyd pleaded to let him breathe. According to the autopsy, Floyd lost consciousness and died a short time later. Floyd's shocking death led to demonstrations across the country and sparked debate about systemic racism, inequality and police brutality against Black people in the US. In particular, players from the WNBA and NBA basketball leagues have used their platform to demand justice.

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US sports reacts to ex-police officer Chauvin's guilty verdict

Basketball superstar LeBron James and numerous other top athletes and teams with ties to the USA have reacted to the guilty verdict for white ex-police officer Derek Chauvin in the trial for the killing of African-American George Floyd.

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