On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was killed by police officers because of a crime that black people cannot control and a crime that has been going on for centuries: Being black. The horrific murder of George Floyd is the exact reason why well-known professional athletes such as Lebron James and Patrick Mahomes started to speak out against police brutality because just like the rest of us, they were tired of seeing another African-American be killed by the police due to their skin color.

              George Floyd’s death put an immediate toll on the African-American community due to the fact that they were tired and exhausted from seeing police brutality. This energy towards the hatred that African-Americans felt made Los Angeles Lakers’ player Lebron James express the way he felt to The New York Times. James stated, “Yes, we want you to go out and vote, but we’re also going to give you the tutorial.” and he also said, “We’re going to give you the background of how to vote and what they’re trying to do, the other side, to stop you from voting”. The reigning Finals MVP in Lebron James, also thinks and questions if how we vote is “structurally racist”. LeBron James and The National Basketball Association (NBA) have been using their popularity and platform as a voice to the rest of the world that change needs to happen around the world because the way that the black community is being treated is not okay! Since Lebron James is the face of the NBA, people will tune in to his words and initiative to speak out against police brutality and the discrimination of African-Americans, and due to the ERHS community being predominantly African-American(56%), they will all tune in as well, as the rest of ERHS because we as a whole want to support what is right.

              NFL (National Football League) and Kansas City Chiefs player Patrick Mahomes started getting in on the action of using his voice as a power by speaking his mind. He too wanted to address the racial discrimination in the world after George Floyd’s death. Mahomes stated, “The best thing about it is you’re showing kids that no matter where you grow up, what race you are, that you can achieve your dream.”, while he also said, “For me, being a black quarterback — having a black dad and a white mom — it just shows that it doesn’t matter where you come from.”. Mahomes also said what everyone in the world who supports black people and who want change say which was, “Black Lives Matter”. Mahomes wants to express his words so that kids all over the world will follow their dreams no matter where they come from, while also using his rising fame as an advantage to speak up for African-Americans.

              Student-athletes voiced their opinions on why it’s great that professional athletes are speaking up against police brutality. Student-athlete Thomas Whitley stated, “I support professional athletes speaking up on police brutality because they show they are one of us, and just because they are famous doesn’t mean they are not human too. This is why I support them speaking up, especially an African-American athlete.”. Another student-athlete, Samuel Atta-Safoh, said, “I think it’s a good thing that professional athletes are speaking up about police brutality because they can use their platform to express how they feel and with the platform that they have more people would support them in what they’re protesting for. Many people want to know why athletes are starting to speak out against police brutality and student-athlete Deon Rush explained why. “They are starting to speak up because of what’s happening in their environment.”, says Deon. Student-athletes’ opinions are very important because they are the future of professional athletes and their voices, just like the rest of the ERHS community, is very important. Some people may not realize this, but professional athletes using their voice as activism is extremely important because they are heard due to their really high platform. With all these pieces of feedback from student-athletes and professional athletes, we in the ERHS community and the world need to have our voices heard and really need to acknowledge the voices of professional athletes for change to happen!