Cleveland Browns Receiver Upsets Police With ‘Justice For Tamir Rice And John Crawford’ Shirt
Yesterday, the Cincinnati Bengals absolutely demolished the Cleveland Browns 30-zip. However, Cleveland’s woes go way deeper than the poor performance of its NFL team (including Johnny Football’s embarrassing stats). Eric Holder and the U.S. Justice Department found irrefutable evidence that Cleveland Police have been guilty of using excessive force.
Sports figures have a forum for airing their controversial grievances and often take advantage of their wide exposure. During pre-game warm ups, Brown’s wide receiver, Andrew Hawkins, donned a shirt that upset the Cleveland Police Union
Police Union representative, Jeff Follmer said his display of support for the two victims was “pathetic.“
“He should stick to playing football and let us worry about law enforcement. The players don’t know what our job entails. Don’t judge us by what you’re reading in the media.”
The police union demanded an apology from Hawkins, but a statement from the Browns said they respect their players’ right to protest.
“We have great respect for the Cleveland Police Department and the work that they do to protect and serve our city. We also respect our players’ rights to project their support and bring awareness to issues that are important to them if done so in a responsible manner.”
Civil rights icons from the 1960’s and 1970’s fully support today’s athletes who use their forum to invoke a national movement for change. Let’s face it, there’s no one more beloved than a local sports hero, and his or her power to invoke a conversation about race is unparalleled.
Copyright 2014 Liberaland
By: VegasJessie
A resident of Las Vegas Nevada, a graduate of the University of Oklahoma as a Political Science major. Very motivated to get people to participate in the electoral process.
tiredoftea December 15th, 2014 at 17:11
“He should stick to playing football and let us worry about law enforcement” He could if you would and not employ unfit cops who shoot children!
tiredoftea December 15th, 2014 at 18:11
“He should stick to playing football and let us worry about law enforcement” He could if you would and not employ unfit cops who shoot children!
Carla Akins December 15th, 2014 at 17:21
For years, the public at large has complained about the behavior of sports figures and the impression this behavior has on our youth.
I for one, am thrilled that a majority of these players are expressing outrage (and their 1st amendment rights) – taking a stand on police misconduct, its affect on the community and so very many young men just like them.
Suzanne McFly December 15th, 2014 at 18:45
I am glad these athletes are using their soapboxes to promote positive messages and expose corruption in local law enforcement. This will get the attention of the younger people.
Carla Akins December 15th, 2014 at 19:42
Me too! I’m strangely proud – although I contributed nothing to their motivation.
Suzanne McFly December 16th, 2014 at 09:34
We may not have contributed in any way but we can still be proud they are making the right decision in using the megaphone they have been given.
Carla Akins December 15th, 2014 at 18:21
For years, the public at large has complained about the behavior of sports figures and the impression this behavior has on our youth.
I for one, am thrilled that a majority of these players are expressing outrage (and their 1st amendment rights) – taking a stand on police misconduct, its affect on the community and so very many young men just like them.
Suzanne McFly December 15th, 2014 at 19:45
I am glad these athletes are using their soapboxes to promote positive messages and expose corruption in local law enforcement. This will get the attention of the younger people.
Carla Akins December 15th, 2014 at 20:42
Me too! I’m strangely proud – although I contributed nothing to their motivation.
Suzanne McFly December 16th, 2014 at 10:34
We may not have contributed in any way but we can still be proud they are making the right decision in using the megaphone they have been given.
Dave Navarro December 15th, 2014 at 17:26
So the Cleveland Police do not believe in the U.S. Constitution or the First Amendment? That to me, is of greater concern.
Dave Navarro December 15th, 2014 at 18:26
So the Cleveland Police do not believe in the U.S. Constitution or the First Amendment? That to me, is of greater concern.
mea_mark December 15th, 2014 at 17:46
Police want an apology for someone expressing their opinion that hurts their feelings. Well, the people want indictments for cops that kill.
mea_mark December 15th, 2014 at 18:46
Police want an apology for someone expressing their opinion that hurts their feelings. Well, the people want indictments for cops that kill.
whatthe46 December 15th, 2014 at 17:47
“He should stick to playing football and let us worry about law enforcement. The players don’t know what our job entails. Don’t judge us by what you’re reading in the media.”
*****
maybe the cops should stick to protecting and serving instead of murdering innocent citizens. and no one is judging by what’s being read in the media, we’re judging by the sheer number of bodies that lay wake by your murdering cops.
burqa December 15th, 2014 at 19:39
I agree.
The union rep is obviously a murderer.
I am outraged he has not been charged yet, in spite of the abundance of evidence that shows the union rep has been out murdering people.
tracey marie December 15th, 2014 at 20:03
are you high
Carla Akins December 15th, 2014 at 20:05
I wonder if they’ll share?
tracey marie December 15th, 2014 at 20:10
Depends on what it is?
whatthe46 December 15th, 2014 at 22:37
i’ve got TMJ and its a b’tch. i need what he’s got.
whatthe46 December 15th, 2014 at 22:38
try re-reading. here’s a hint so you can edit your ridiculous rant: “your.”
whatthe46 December 15th, 2014 at 18:47
“He should stick to playing football and let us worry about law enforcement. The players don’t know what our job entails. Don’t judge us by what you’re reading in the media.”
*****
maybe the cops should stick to protecting and serving instead of murdering innocent citizens. and no one is judging by what’s being read in the media, we’re judging by the sheer number of bodies that lay wake by your murdering cops.
burqa December 15th, 2014 at 20:39
I agree.
The union rep is obviously a murderer.
I am outraged he has not been charged yet, in spite of the abundance of evidence that shows the union rep has been out murdering people.
tracey marie December 15th, 2014 at 21:03
are you high
Carla Akins December 15th, 2014 at 21:05
I wonder if they’ll share?
tracey marie December 15th, 2014 at 21:10
Depends on what it is?
whatthe46 December 15th, 2014 at 23:37
i’ve got TMJ and its a b’tch. i need what he’s got.
whatthe46 December 15th, 2014 at 23:38
try re-reading. here’s a hint so you can edit your ridiculous rant: “your.”
causeican December 15th, 2014 at 18:33
another example of police intimidation.
burqa December 15th, 2014 at 19:35
Yeah, put the whole police force on trial, they’re all guilty.
First fire them all, then put them all on trial.
Wait, who needs a trial?
Fire them all, then put them all in prison for life because every single one is a murderer.
Cleveland can do just fine without a police force.
tracey marie December 15th, 2014 at 20:03
when did he say any of that?
arc99 December 15th, 2014 at 20:23
You really need to take a deep breath and read Mr. Hawkins’ response to his critics.
http://www.espncleveland.com/common/more.php?m=49&post_id=40811
“To clarify, I utterly respect and appreciate every police officer that protects and serves all of us with honesty, integrity and the right way. And I don’t think those kind of officers should be offended by what I did. My mom taught me my entire life to respect law enforcement. I have family, close friends that are incredible police officers and I tell them all the time how they are much braver than me for it. So my wearing a T-shirt wasn’t a stance against every police officer or every police department. My wearing the T-shirt was a stance against wrong individuals doing the wrong thing for the wrong reasons to innocent people.
Anomaly 100 December 15th, 2014 at 22:20
That was perfect.
causeican December 15th, 2014 at 19:33
another example of police intimidation.
burqa December 15th, 2014 at 20:35
Yeah, put the whole police force on trial, they’re all guilty.
First fire them all, then put them all on trial.
Wait, who needs a trial?
Fire them all, then put them all in prison for life because every single one is a murderer.
Cleveland can do just fine without a police force.
tracey marie December 15th, 2014 at 21:03
when did he say any of that?
arc99 December 15th, 2014 at 21:23
You really need to take a deep breath and read Mr. Hawkins’ response to his critics.
http://www.espncleveland.com/common/more.php?m=49&post_id=40811
“To clarify, I utterly respect and appreciate every police officer that protects and serves all of us with honesty, integrity and the right way. And I don’t think those kind of officers should be offended by what I did. My mom taught me my entire life to respect law enforcement. I have family, close friends that are incredible police officers and I tell them all the time how they are much braver than me for it. So my wearing a T-shirt wasn’t a stance against every police officer or every police department. My wearing the T-shirt was a stance against wrong individuals doing the wrong thing for the wrong reasons to innocent people.
Anomaly 100 December 15th, 2014 at 23:20
That was perfect.
tracey marie December 15th, 2014 at 18:58
The killers demand an apology…such nerve
tracey marie December 15th, 2014 at 19:58
The killers demand an apology…such nerve
burqa December 15th, 2014 at 19:32
I am appropriately outraged.
burqa December 15th, 2014 at 20:32
I am appropriately outraged.
Atomic76 December 15th, 2014 at 20:18
It’s really pathetic what’s going on here in Cleveland over this. Cleveland.com wasted no time engaging in a smear campaign against Rice’s family right after this happened – they’re clearly in cahoots with some folks in the police department.
The police department are the ones that made the mistake here re-hiring him knowing his past work history and issues. One of their own already fired him from another local PD, citing that the officer was mentally and emotionally unfit for the job – so don’t try and dismiss this as the media or people jumping to conclusions without knowing all the facts, or liberals in general, just because.
We all know where this is going – he’ll get showered with financial gifts from racist conservatives, they’ll twist the story around to try and paint him and the Cleveland police as the victims, demonize Rice’s family, and let him off scott free despite the overwhelming evidence against him.
The riots over this are going to get real ugly in Cleveland…
fahvel December 16th, 2014 at 13:03
i don’t understand “primadona” in this case.
starskeptic December 16th, 2014 at 13:10
arrogant, in other words…
Atomic76 December 15th, 2014 at 21:18
It’s really pathetic what’s going on here in Cleveland over this. The cops are acting like primadonna’s.
fahvel December 16th, 2014 at 14:03
i don’t understand “primadona” in this case.
starskeptic December 16th, 2014 at 14:10
arrogant, in other words…
crc3 December 16th, 2014 at 02:38
Fuck the Cleveland police. They deserve to be called out for what they’ve done. They need to fix the problems or reap what they sow…
allison1050 December 16th, 2014 at 08:14
Instead of worrying about this man the union rep needs to spend time on why the DOJ decided they’ve found evidence of excessive force.