Several players from the Pittsburgh Steelers, former and current, have added their signatures to the Players Coalition letter. The letter is to the United States Congress in support of the Amash-Pressley Ending Qualified Immunity Act.
What is it?
This bill passing will eliminate qualified immunity. This protects police officers from any legal ramifications or punishments when using excessive force. The letter stems from the recent murder of George Floyd by a police officer using extremely excessive force. The entire world has rallied behind those affected by police brutality and those who have lost their lives for it with little to no repercussions to the officers involved.
So far, there are over 1,400 signatures on the letter of former and current coaches, personnel and players from the NFL, MLB, and NBA. An excerpt from the letter states, “We are tired of conversations around police accountability that go nowhere, and we have engaged in too many ‘listening sessions’ where we discuss whether there is a problem of police violence in this country. There is a problem.”
Who’s Involved?
Pittsburgh cornerback Steven Nelson, a five-year vet in the NFL, added his name to the list. Two rookies from this year’s draft class, Kevin Dotson and JT Jones, are other current players to join in. Over a dozen former Steelers have added their signatures to the letter, including:
Kelvin Beachum, Kris Brown, Roosevelt Nix, Al Woods, Will Wolford, Lance Moore, Patrick Morris, Arthur Moats, Will Johnson, Roy Jefferson, Corey Ivy, Chris Hubbard, James Farrior, Najeh Davenport, Joshua Dobbs, and Roger Duffy.
Other notable names on the list are:
Chris Archer (MLB), Doug Baldwin, Odell Beckham Jr, Tom Brady, Drew Brees (yes, Brees), Joe Burrow, and CC Sabathia (MLB).
White and black sports figures alike are banding together in this fight. Here is a link to the letter:
https://a.espncdn.com/pdf/2020/0610/playersletter.pdf
