Since the senseless death of George Floyd, protests have erupted throughout the country and many have taken to social media to demand justice. And as tensions continue to escalate, Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. offered a...suggestion on how to channel that righteous rage.
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βAs much as you pray for George family, gotta also pray for the police officer(s) who were involved in this evil,β he tweeted. βAs hard as it is, pray for them instead of hate them...Pray that God changes their hearts.β
Unsurprisingly, Porterβs plea for compassion was met with outrage, as many are reluctant to extend mercy to the same police officers who refused to show the same to Floyd.
Floydβs childhood friend, former NBA star Stephen Jackson, also made it a point to publicly object to Porterβs proposal.
βMan go sit yo young privileged ass down. Either u with us or against us,β he posted on Instagram. βEasy to say that nobody dying close to u. Pick a side.β
Other members of the NBAβs fraternity offered their own opinions on the matter as well.
Despite the backlash, Porter has thus far refused to delete his initial tweet or back down from his position.
βAll hate will do is cause the same cycle to continue,β he replied on Twitter. βOnly God and love can break [the] cycle and cause real change.β
I definitely wonβt knock Porter for being a man of faith and believing in God, but thereβs a time and a place for everything, and clearly this ainβt it. As a public figure, he should also be mindful that expressing his opinion in this matter can easily be misconstrued or used to excuse the actions of the police officers involvedβthough itβs possible that could actually be his intent.
Itβs clear that this is a polarizing issue that wonβt be going away anytime soon, so as the call for justice reaches a fever a pitch, hopefully, Porterβs plea for mercy wonβt come back to haunt him in the future.
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