Habs’ Weber, Gallagher weigh in on racism
Shea Weber is a man of few words — especially with the media — and he isn’t a socialmedia guy.
But on Wednesday, the Canadiens captain joined a growing list of NHL players and other pro athletes and teams who have taken to social media to express their thoughts on racism after George Floyd, a black man, was killed last week in Minnesota by a policeman.
Since Weber has basically no presence on social media, he had the Canadiens tweet out his statement, in which he notes: “I have not been sure how to express my feelings.”
Weber, who is from Sicamous, B.C., adds, “Growing up in a small town never afforded me the worldly experiences to understand racism or to ever really think about this issue as a young individual. My eyes have been opened to the realities that many people who don’t look like me face on a daily basis. Racism is very real and must be called out.”
The Canadiens’ Brendan Gallagher is a social-media guy, with more than 278,000 followers on his Twitter account. Gallagher tweeted out his own statement against racism on Wednesday.
“I’ll admit that speaking out at a time like this makes me uncomfortable,” Gallagher writes. “I don’t want to offend anyone and I don’t want to make anyone upset.”
He adds, “When I, as a white person, see a police officer, I feel safe and protected. I realize I’m privileged and that many people whose skin colour is different than mine have had, and continue to have, very different experiences. Police officers aren’t the enemy; bad police officers and the officers and the systems that allow them to continue to wear a badge despite their racist behaviour are. The police officer who murdered George Floyd is a bad person.”