Some athletes tweet – and then apologize for – views on Zimmerman verdict

By 
·July 15, 2013

Last year, Miami Heat superstar Dwyane Wade changed his Twitter avatar to a picture of himself in a hoodie. He also wore shoes with the lines “RIP Trayvon Martin” and “We Want Justice” for a few regular season games.

It was Wade’s way of calling attention to the shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Florida teen whose death sparked nationwide protests, rallies and debate about race in America.

Saturday, more than a year since Martin’s death, a jury found George Zimmerman not guilty of second-degree murder – a verdict which led to a wide range of responses from professional athletes, including Wade:

Other NBA superstars expressed shock, including the Clippers’ Chris Paul and Hall of Fame center Shaquille O’Neal:

Last year, the National Basketball Players Association released a statement calling for the arrest of George Zimmerman. WNBA players such as Tamika Catchings and Tina Charles weighed in:

https://twitter.com/tinacharles31/status/356233905914920960

NFL MVP Adrian Peterson also voiced is reaction to the verdict late Saturday night:

Several other current and former NFL players unhappy with the not guilty verdict brought up the prison terms for players like Michael Vick and Plaxico Burress. How could these players, the athletes suggested, serve time for their crimes – but not Zimmerman?

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick offered more of a spiritual perspective:

For others, it was pure frustration:

https://twitter.com/brendon310/status/356232162313388033

Wide receivers Victor Cruz and Roddy White took a lot of heat for their tweets following the Zimmerman verdict. Cruz suggested that, despite the not guilty verdict, Zimmerman would not survive a year because “the hood” would eventually “catch up with him.”  The New York Giant then deleted the tweet and quickly apologized with several follow-up tweets. Monday, he offered further clarification on the “The Dan Patrick Show” Monday.

White, whose Twitter feed is a constant source of controversy,  tweeted that the Zimmerman jury “should go home” and “kill themselves for letting a grown man get away with killing a kid.” He then offered this:

Follow theGrio’s Todd Johnson on Twitter @rantoddj

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