Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller recently wrote a beautiful editorial for Time magazine on George Floyd’s and the ongoing protests against racism. He wrote that most of us know that this day was coming. “The social upheaval we are witnessing is not about one horrific incident in Minneapolis. This has been building up for years, decades, generations.”
The Denver Broncos linebacker is emotional over Floyd’s death
In his editorial, Miller wrote about his asthma and the countless times he has needed help to breathe. “I can’t breathe” has been something he has said throughout his life and he always had something to help him. “I cannot even imagine what it would be like to get no help. Since George Floyd died, tears have overcome me at least once a day. And then, as I thought about it, I have felt this pain in varying degrees for as far back as I can remember—at least since the first time I was called a n****r in elementary school. The pain sears me every day, now. It’s an emotional pain. It’s a physical pain. It is the pain of oppression in a country that’s supposed to be free“, the linebacker wrote.
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Miller grew up in the Dallas area with his parents and brother. He writes that while his parents provided for their boys, protected them, taught them and loved them, they couldn’t protect them from the “ugliness and sheer pervasiveness of racism. It’s everywhere and utterly unavoidable… I had to engage it several times in college—on and off campus. And now, despite living my childhood dream of playing in the NFL, I continue to experience the constant nightmare of racism. I donated a police vehicle to my hometown in 2016, but when I chose to take a knee for a single game in 2017 during the national anthem to protest racial inequality and police brutality, I received hate mail and lost endorsements.”
Miller on NFL’s Statement
Von, further, appreciated the NFL making an official statement supporting the movement and the right to peaceful protest. However, he also recognized that “it will ultimately be up to the the team owners” to implement the policy and bring real change.
The Denver Broncos drafted Miller second overall in the 2011 NFL Draft. He is an 8 times Pro Bowler and was awarded Super Bowl MVP in 2015. More recently, he has been deeply involved in the ongoing protests and even took to the streets to join George Floyd marches.
Miller concluded by saying that he is a “strong, proud African-American who loves making kids smile, people laugh and [his] parents shake their heads“. However, his career has given him a powerful platform and his love for America compels him to use it. Thus, he writes, “my message is this: I am all in for unity, equality and justice.“
