On Sunday five St. Louis Rams players took the field with their hands up – like the protesters in Ferguson.
.@STLouisRams players coming out of the tunnel 2day in Hands Up, Don't Shoot position showing solidarity w/ #Ferguson pic.twitter.com/iqKImPWima
— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) November 30, 2014
On Sunday night the St. Louis Police Officers Association demanded a very “public apology” from the Rams organization over the stunt.
The New York Daily News reported:
Five St. Louis Rams players walked on to the field using the “hands up, don’t shoot” pose adopted by protestors in Ferguson, Mo. following the Michael Brown shooting. The gesture seemingly angered the St. Louis Police Officers Association, who have demanded a “very public apology” and for the players involved to be disciplined.
The statement characterized the SLPOA’s position as “profoundly disappointed” with the Rams.
According to a statement released by the organization – quoting business manager Jeff Roorda – since Ferguson officer Darren Wilson was not indicted by a grand jury and since St. Louis police work to protect the team’s stadium, NFL players have no right to voice their opinion on the matter.
“All week long, the Rams and the NFL were on the phone with the St. Louis Police Department asking for assurances that the players and the fans would be kept safe from the violent protesters who had rioted, looted, and burned buildings in Ferguson,” Roorda said in the statement. “Our officers have been working 12 hour shifts for over a week, they had days off including Thanksgiving cancelled so that they could defend this community from those on the streets that perpetuate this myth that Michael Brown was executed by a brother police officer and then, as the players and their fans sit safely in their dome under the watchful protection of hundreds of St. Louis’s finest, they take to the turf to call a now-exonerated officer a murderer, that is way out-of-bounds, to put it in football parlance.”
