Thursday, former Cub and current Cardinals outfielder Dexter Fowler posted a powerful statement on his Instagram addressing racial inequality in the U.S. following the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis.
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Here’s the thing. I know it’s hard to fully grasp why black people are outraged.It’s hard to grasp unless you’ve seen people hold their purses tighter when you walk by, when you have people refer to you as “not black” when you’re not “ghetto”. When your parents have to give you a talk when you’re just a kid. “you can’t act like your white friends. you’ll get killed. they won’t” This is a generational discussion EVERY black family has. It terrifies you as a kid, and as an adult. You don’t understand why we know, those officers didn’t flinch at murdering that man, because he is black.The race card. We hold it. You tell us “it’s not about race” if we ever hold you to it. You don’t want us to have even that 1 bone chilling “privilege” of defense. You don’t want us to hold any privilege.We don’t hold the privilege of being a criminal, making a mistake, or simply taking a jog, the same as a white man, and being treated the same. He couldn’t breathe. He was murdered. They were gently fired from their jobs. This isn’t right. This can’t go on. (if you assume “you”, is you, and you’re upset about the generalization...... just think about that for a second)
A post shared by Dexter Fowler (@dexterfowler) on May 28, 2020 at 11:43am PDT
RELATED: Chicago athletes react to nationwide unrest over George Floyd killing
Cubs co-owner Laura Ricketts responded to Fowler, who also posted the statement on Twitter, expressing support with a heartfelt, strong message.
The Cubs haven't released an official statement; the Bulls released a statement on Sunday, the first major league sports team in Chicago to do so.
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