Sports world celebrates conviction
NEW YORK: The sporting world celebrated the conviction yesterday of former Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd but cautioned there was still work ahead to achieve racial justice and equality.
The verdict followed months of protest in the United States triggered by the murder last May of 46yearold black man Floyd that sparked a global movement uniting athletes around the world.
‘‘Thank God . . . guilty! Justice has been served!!,’’ National Basketball Association Hall of Famer Magic Johnson said.
The threeweek trial had raised already raw tensions further as cities across the US braced for the possibility of an unpopular verdict and more protests.
There were reports leagues had prepared plans to postpone games if the verdict sparked violence but instead there were celebrations on the streets and across social media.
‘‘Justice for George! The emotions I feel right now are hard to describe,’’ Formula One’s only black driver, seventime world champion Lewis Hamilton, said on his Twitter account.
‘‘Derek Chauvin has been found guilty.
‘‘This is monumental, George’s death is not in vain.
‘‘Convicting him of all three charges marks a new dawn in the fight for racial justice.’’
A 12member jury needed only 10 hours of deliberation to convict Chauvin of seconddegree murder, thirddegree murder and manslaughter.
Most of North America’s sport leagues were quick to respond, the National Football League, NBA, National Hockey League, Major League Soccer and Women’s National Basketball Association all issuing statements praising the verdict and promising to do more to fight racism.
‘‘This past year, we have witnessed traumatising instances of police brutality that black Americans disproportionately experience, with the murder of George Floyd at the forefront of the conversation,’’ WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said.
‘‘While this verdict represents a step towards justice, we are reminded that justice is too often not the outcome for people of colour.’’
The NBA and its players led the Black Lives Matter movement from the front throughout, postponing three playoff games in August following the police shooting of another black man, Jacob Blake, in the city of Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The move triggered similar demonstrations across other sports, Major League Baseball, MLS and WNBA also postponing games, while fourtime tennis grand slam champion Naomi Osaka joined the protests by pulling out of a tournament after reaching the semifinals.
Los Angeles Lakers great LeBron James, one of the sporting world’s loudest voices in the fight against police brutality, had just one word to describe the verdict: ‘‘Accountability,’’ James tweeted.
On tennis’ biggest stage, Japan’s Osaka stepped up and took a leading role at the US Open, wearing masks with the name of a black victim of police brutality, including Floyd, in each of her seven matches on the way to winning the grand slam tournament.
‘‘I was going to make a celebratory tweet but then I was hit with sadness because we are celebrating something that is clear as day,’’ Osaka tweeted.
‘‘The fact that so many injustices occurred to make us hold our breath towards this outcome is really telling.’’ — Reuters