Retired NFL player Brett Favre recently weighed in on the circumstances surrounding the death of George Floyd, saying he finds it “hard to believe” former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin meant to kill Floyd.
Floyd, 46, passed away after Chauvin knelt on his neck for over nine minutes despite repeatedly telling him he couldn’t breathe. The incident also happened in the full glare of bystanders who could be heard pleading with Chauvin to remove his knee from Floyd’s neck and also offer him some medical assistance. However, Chauvin and his other colleague officers did not budge.
“I find it hard to believe, and I’m not defending Derek Chauvin in any way, I find it hard to believe, first of all, that he intentionally meant to kill George Floyd,” Favre said on the Bolling with Favre podcast on Wednesday, according to New York Post.
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“That being said, his actions were uncalled for. I don’t care what color the person is on the street. I don’t know what led to that video that we saw where his knee is on his neck, but the man had thrown in the towel.”
On Tuesday, a jury found Chauvin guilty of murder and manslaughter in the May 25 death of the African-American father. Favre’s recent comment comes after he was criticized last week for saying athletes who kneel during the national anthem to protest against racial injustice have “created more turmoil than good.”
“It’s really a shame that we’ve come to this,” the retired quarterback said on The Andrew Klavan Show on April 11, USA Today reported. “Something has to unify us, and I felt like the flag, standing patriotically — because Blacks and whites and Hispanics have fought for this country and died for this country. It’s too bad.”
The 51-year-old doubled down on his sentiments and responded to the criticism on Wednesday’s podcast, saying: “I just gave my opinion. I’m certainly not a racist in spite of what some people might think, and you know, I’m for unity and I just feel like there’s a better way to unify our country. That being said, there’s a lot of things that need to stop.”
