Former Giants giant Michael Strahan and football analyst Fox Sports took to social media and gave his thoughts on the death of George Floyd and where we are as a country in terms of race relations.
Strahan said he was upset with the deaths of Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor and was frustrated that the country must once again have the same conversation over police brutality.
“I don’t understand. I don’t understand,” Strahan said in the video. “It’s crazy about that. Because we continue to have the same conversation, and in the end, there seems to be no resolution. There is no justice. Not finished. I think that’s a frustrating thing.
“It’s very difficult like black people that the color of your skin makes people afraid of you.”
Strahan – the defense end of the Hall of Fame who won two Super Bowls with the Giants – said many police officers did a good job, but this incident polluted the police.
“I hear it all the time, ‘not every cop is a bad cop’ ‘not every black person is a bad guy.’ Plain and simple, “said Strahan, who is a co-host of” Good Morning America “and a host of” Strahan, Sara & Keke “. “I have many police who are my friends. I have a police officer who works for me. They are extraordinary people … They are extraordinary people, but there are always, always in all things, this situation in particular, people who make a full profession, a group of people look bad. “
Strahan said being a famous black person helped “in some ways,” but added that there were several times throughout his life that he pulled over when he was just driving.
“(A) half a week ago, I was in a car, a good car, just driving,” he said. “I pulled over, a policeman pulled over without reward. I wasn’t speeding. I was in traffic. I was nothing, just doing nothing but driving while black.
“Come to my window. Look and go, “Oh, Michael, I’m a big fan. When I was little, I would do trick-or-treating just to come to your house hoping to meet you. ‘And a great way to meet me, by attracting me because it doesn’t do anything.
Strahan said that “restless” little things had happened to him “many times” over the years, but that was worse for unknown black people.
“Imagine if you are not famous. Imagine if it happens to you all the time,” he said. “Imagine if you are encouraged and not valued and spoken to in a way that makes you feel sub-human. And to see George Floyd die like he died. Attitudes like feeling towards his life. Underestimate the public who ask you to let the person breathe. It makes me angry, makes me angry.
Strahan said the protest was an important part of civil discussion, but they had to be peaceful.
“I got a protest. I understand the protest, “he said. “I disagree with looting and rioting because it takes advantage of the situation and embarrasses George Floyd and all other people we know who have died without reason at the hands of the police.”
Strahan also said his son was involved in a situation where police did not treat him with respect.
“My son was put behind the police car,” he said. “And they led the person to look back to see if he was or not because he looked like someone they said was a Dominican who had robbed someone. That should not have happened. That should not have happened, friends.
Am I upset? Correct. But as a black person, if I show too much anger, then you are afraid of me. That should not be the case. That should not be the case. “
Floyd, 46, died on May 25 in Minneapolis after police officer Derek Chauvin, 44, pressed his knee to Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes after Floyd allegedly spent fake $ 20 bills.
Charges against Chauvin were raised on Wednesday. He now faces more serious second-degree murder charges, in addition to initial charges of third-degree murder and second-degree murder with negligence to blame.
Other officers at the scene of Thomas Lane, 37, J. Alexander Kueng, 26, and Tou Thao, 34, are now accused of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and helping and abetting second-degree murder.
Although Strahan said it was not easy, he held hopes for a better future, especially for his children.
“(I) hope my children can grow up and be in a place where we are better than we are right now,” he said. “This is the only thing we can hope for. And if that doesn’t change now, I don’t know what to do to change it.
Strahan said the country could not depend on politicians or “big speeches” to solve problems, and it was up to “people to make changes.”
“We need to stop relying, I think, on others to change for us,” he said. “We must gather and make changes for ourselves. In a positive way, in a peaceful way, if possible. ”
Strahan said that it was important for people to keep this conversation going and to continue to treat each other with respect, adding that this incident had made him “angry, upset, sad, scared.”
“Hopefully there will be a change that will occur,” he said.