A friend of George Zimmerman is speaking out in his defense to refute claims that he used a racial epithet to refer to Trayvon Martin.
As previously reported, a recorded phone call appeared to catch Zimmerman calling the unarmed 17-year-old a “—ing coon” while he followed him against the requests of a 911 operator.
Later neighbors would report hearing Martin’s calls for help and a single gunshot that took the young boy’s life.
Now, according to a close friend of Zimmerman, he’s not racist in the slightest and the reported racial slur is actually a huge misunderstanding.
Joe Oliver, a 53-year-old former news anchor, says that the self-appointed watchman never called Martin a coon, instead Oliver claims that Zimmerman used a “term of endearment” and called him a goon.
Oliver was a guest Sunday on “Good Morning America” where he gave a the following explanation of his friend’s actions: “Goon is apparently a term of endearment in the high schools these days. I don’t know of anyone younger than 40 who uses coon as a racial epithet.”
In addition to “Good Morning America,” Oliver also spoke with Reuters and told them that his friend is extremely remorseful.
“He couldn’t stop crying. He’s a caring human being. I mean, he took a man’s life and he has no idea what to do about it. He’s extremely remorseful about it.”
Check out Oliver talking about Zimmerman’s “term of endearment” below.
He really can’t be serious…
-Danielle Canada
