by Sean Begin
After 108 days of protest and riots, anger and sadness, the Brown family and the citizens of Ferguson were told a decision they knew for some time was coming.
Darren Wilson would not be indicted for the shooting of unarmed 18-year-old Mike Brown on August 9. The decision sparked nation-wide protests and marches in support of Ferguson and against the decision of the grand jury.
On Sunday, members of the St. Louis Rams walked out onto the field with their arms upraised in the “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” gesture created during the initial protests in Ferguson, in support of that town and the people who continue to protest their anger.
In what will simply be forgotten as another tone deaf move in a series of many, the St. Louis County Police Officer’s Association is demanding that the NFL punish the five players for their display, saying they were “profoundly disappointed” that the players “chose to ignore the mountains of evidence released from the St. Louis County Grand Jury.”
The statement goes on to paint Wilson in a heroic light because of the non-indictment despite the fact that myriad legal experts have come out and criticized Prosecutor Jeff McCullough’s questioning and presentation of evidence to the grand jury.
The statement reads tone deaf throughout, a blatant PR move by the SLPOA’s Business Manager, Jeff Roorda, who is the same man who raised money for Wilson’s never-needed defense, money that still went to Wilson.
It’s clear Roorda and the people who allowed him to publish this statement have no wish to try and “bridge the gap” between citizens “who feel there is a divide between them and law enforcement,” as Ferguson mayor James Knowles III said needed to happen.
It’s also incredibly ironic that an organization (the police) that has become increasingly militarized gets in such an uproar with another organization (the NFL) that is so closely married to patriotism and the military.
The highlight of the statement, though, comes at the end from Roorda: “I’d like to remind the NFL and their players that it is not the violent thugs burning down buildings that buy their advertiser’s products. It’s cops and the good people of St. Louis and other NFL towns that do.”
This statement is so glaringly racist (wonder who Roorda considers the “violent thugs” he denigrates) and so easily refuted, that it took a satirical post from SB Nation’s PFT Commenter to point out it’s stupidity.
“The statement pointed out that police officers and there supporters are actually the ones who buy most of the NFLs corporate partner’s products like light beer, viagra, and a new pickup truck like 3 times a year.”
PFT Commenter was a Twitter account originally meant to mock the bad grammar and spelling of commenters of the website Pro Football Talk, so the mistakes above are intentional.
The point is that the SLPOA and it’s bloated mouthpiece Jeff Roorda continue to show their ineptitude in doing their best to serve the community. Instead, they continue to alienate themselves and drive a wedge between any potential gap bridging, that Ferguson’s mayor naively thinks can happen.
On Monday, the NFL released one of the weakest statements of support, when spokesperson Brian McCarthy told USA Today Sports: “We respect and understand the concerns of all individuals who have expressed views on this tragic situation.”
But as ESPN’s Bomani Jones pointed out that afternoon on Twitter, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a memo from the front office sent out to teams telling them te remind players to watch what they say.
After all, wouldn’t want to upset the sponsors with overly political messages, unless of course those messages involve blind nationalism and jets flying overhead.