Sharks winger Evander Kane signed and tweeted a petition Wednesday calling for the Minneapolis police officers fired following the death of an unarmed African American man to face prosecution.
I just signed a petition to demand that the 4 police officers involved in murdered George Floyd be arrested and charged immediately. You should too: https://t.co/NG6ZL53OrO
— Evander Kane (@evanderkane_9) May 27, 2020
The petition, initially shared by the super PAC known as Action PAC, advocated for Hennepin County Attorney Michael Freeman to press charges against officers Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng in the wake of Floyd’s death in police custody Monday. Video captured by onlookers showed Chauvin, who is white, kneeling on Floyd’s neck for around eight minutes while arresting him.
Floyd died soon after being taken to Hennepin County Medical Center, police said Tuesday. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey announced Tuesday that the four officers had been fired, and police said the FBI and Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension would be investigating the incident. The Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis said Tuesday that all four officers are fully cooperating with the investigation and that “[now] is not the time (to) rush to judgment and immediately condemn our officers.”
On Wednesday, police used tear gas on Minneapolis protestors for the second day in a row during demonstrations following Floyd’s death. Professional athletes and coaches, in the Bay Area and elsewhere, have expressed outrage at Floyd’s death — and police brutality against African Americans — in the last two days, joining Kane and Frey in calling for the officers to face criminal charges.
Kane tweeted Tuesday that Floyd’s death made his “[f—ing] blood boil.”
This makes my blood f*****g boil! All four “officers” need to be jailed for life and it still wouldn’t be enough. The video is all anyone needs to see. #caseclosed https://t.co/o38USN8kOx
— Evander Kane (@evanderkane_9) May 26, 2020
The 28-year-old has increasingly spoken out against racism in hockey within the last year. Kane is one of just 43 players of color in the NHL, according to WDET, who account for fewer than 5 percent of the league’s players.
Former NHLer Akim Aliu, whose revelation that Bill Peters directed racial slurs towards him in the AHL led to the Calgary Flames firing the coach late last year, penned a piece in “The Players Tribune” earlier this month outlining his experience facing bigotry at every level of his hockey career. Kane tweeted the piece on May 19, imploring everyone who works in and/or follows the sport to read it.
I hope that every single Hockey player, Fan, Media member, GM, Owner, Parent and young player read this. When it comes to racism, it exists in many forms with our game, not only back then but still in todays game. I’ve said this for a long time, maybe now you’ll listen. https://t.co/98S00X52u5
— Evander Kane (@evanderkane_9) May 19, 2020
“I actually read a tweet yesterday saying, you know, ‘Stop crying, Akim. You just weren’t good enough,’ ” Kane recalled last week in an interview on an episode of TSN’s “In Depth” centered on racism in hockey. “And I’m thinking, ‘Well, clearly, he was good enough.’ He played in the NHL. He was actually at a training camp in Atlanta my second year … but that’s the furthest from the point.
“This isn’t about Akim being good enough to play in the National Hockey League, or not. It’s about while he was playing in [the American Hockey League] or while he was playing in the OHL, he encountered racism. Whether that happened yesterday or happened 10 years ago, it makes no difference.”
Evander Kane signs petition for officers’ arrests after George Floyd’s death originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area