NFL
By: Zachary Draves
It has been said that any victory is worthy of celebration and that is certainly the case with the killers of Ahmaud Arbery having met their maker.
The three men, Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael, and William “Roddie” Bryan Jr. were found guilty of murdering Abery in cold blood which was caught on tape and helped spark the racial reckoning of 2020.
February 23, 2020, Ahmaud was out jogging in Brunswick, Georgia when these three murderers got in their pickup trucks, chased after him, decided to play cop, and attempt t make a citizen’s arrest in broad daylight which their lawyers argued that they were legally able to do so due to a 19th-century citizen’s arrest law.
Keep that in mind, the 19th century was during slavery.
It was a case of clear white vigilantism and some have called it a 21st-century lynching.
Thankfully the jury saw right through it and did the right thing as these three executioners are likely to spend the rest of their life in prison.
This news gives many a sigh of relief especially in light of the Kyle Rittenhouse trial and its outcome with many rightfully calling out the two systems of justice in America, one white and one black.
Many in the sports world have been closely invested in this case from the beginning and so one can imagine how grateful they are feeling about this outcome as are the rest of us and certainly Ahmaud Arbery’s family.
After all, he was a high school football player and remained physically active as evidenced by the fact that he was an avid jogger.
Major athletes took up his cause with notable names such as LeBron James, Torrey Smith, Enes Kanter, Marcus Stroman, and the NFL Player’s Coalition lending their support.
A letter dated May 8, 2020, and signed by other athletes, coaches, and executives was sent to the Justice Department calling for action in the case after it was confirmed that local authorities had covered up the case and held onto the video for months.
Per Jonathan Jones of the New England Patriots:
The Players Coalition and other pro athletes sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr today requesting an immediate federal investigation into the death of Ahmaud Arbery. Among those signing the letter are Tom Brady, Cam Jordan, Mark Ingram and many more pic.twitter.com/nwxEpZoGz8
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) May 8, 2020
Ahmaud Arbery’s name became a rallying cry for racial justice throughout that whole summer along with the names of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
His life and the amount of support that the sports world has given to his family and the movement was documented in the short film “I Run With Maud” by ESPN and The Undefeated.
Long-distance runner Jerry Francois and others sparked a call to action by asking people to organize and videotape themselves jogging for 2 minutes and 23 seconds in remembrance of February 23 that soon became a national phenomenon.
This outcome is well deserved and much needed at this time and it should also serve as a reminder that there is much more work that needs to be done from the individual level to the institutional level to ensure that this never happens again and reiterating that black lives do matter.
Athletes should continue to do their part by regular posts on social media and through the various coalitions and organizations, they have created such as the Player’s Coalition, NBA Social Justice Coalition, and More Than A Vote to name a few.
As it has been said, any victory is worth celebrating, but we can’t stop and won’t stop.
