A group of police officers were offended by the St. Louis Rams support of deceased teen, Mike Brown. Shortly before taking on the Oakland Raiders Sunday, several players of the St. Louis Rams showed support for Brown.
The NFL players (Stedman Bailey, Tavon Austin, Jared Cook, Chris Givens, and Kenny Britt) held their hands in the air and yelled, “Hands up, don’t shoot” while walking on the field.
Apparently, the St. Louis Police Officers Association members were upset and voiced their displeasure in a lengthy letter. In the letter, the SLPOA demanded that the NFL punish the players for supporting Brown. The letter was also tinged with racist remarks.
“I’d remind the NFL and their players that it is not the violent thugs burning down buildings that buy their advertiser’s products.”
But while the SLPOA called for the players to be reprimanded and referred to some Ferguson residents as thugs, the organization never mentioned the racial disparity within the Ferguson Police Department. It also never mentioned the ongoing brutality that unarmed black men have faced at the hands of police officers across the nation
But the SLPOA have a few in-house issues within its own organization. Jeff Roorda, a person mentioned in the letter, is the SLPOA’s business manager. According to River Front Times, Roorda is a former police officer who was fired for repeatedly falsifying police reports.
The NFL has yet to respond to the SLPOA.
