Four off-duty Minneapolis Police Department officers were providing security for the WNBA Lynx game when they left their posts. The four were upset when they spotted the players’ pre-game clothes and went away.
The players wore black T-shirts with the names of two black individuals who had been shot by police on them. Philando Castile, a man shot and murdered by police during a traffic stop in Minnesota, was one of them.
The reverse of the garment was likewise printed, with a Dallas police badge on it. This was done in memory of the five Dallas police officers who were slain on the job. The words “Black Lives Matter” were also written on the back of the garment.
The players revealed during the pre-game press conference that the shirts were created to commemorate and grieve the deceased, as well as to fight for change.
When describing her own childhood experience with cops with weapons drawn, Rebekkah Brunson noted that what is occurring now is not new.
They have decided it is vital for them to take a position and speak up, she concluded. Racial profiling is an issue. There is an issue with senseless violence.
According to the Minneapolis Police Federation, the four officers were upset by the jerseys and requested that the players remove them. They went out when the team failed to comply with their desires.
Lt. Bob Kroll, head of the police federation, commented, It’s only a T-shirt, but the officers have been unhappy.
He labeled the demonstration “anti-police,” claiming that the Lynx players were believing a “false narrative” about police corruption.
They’re wading into seas they shouldn’t be in in the first place. They are world-class athletes. Continue to play ball. People come to watch the basketball game, he said.
Minneapolis Police Chief Janee’ Harteau remarked that she understood the officers’ emotions but did not condone their conduct. While these officers were working on behalf of the Lynx, she expected all officers wearing a Minneapolis Police uniform to adhere to their fundamental principles and to respect their oath of office, she said. Going off the job and failing to fulfill their contractual commitment to offer a service to the citizens does not meet public standards for the uniform these officers wear.
Bob Kroll’s statements about the Lynx are jackass remarks, Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges said on Facebook. To be clear, labor leadership does not, by definition, speak on behalf of management. Bob Kroll certainly does not speak for her, whether it comes to the Lynx or anything else.
