Andrew Hawkins is a wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns. A couple of weeks ago, Hawkins took the field wearing the black T-shirt you see above and below. It read “Justice for Tamir Rice and John Crawford III.”
After the game, Andrew Hawkins had this to say to reporters—no notes, nothing written:
I was taught that justice is a right that every American should have and also justice should be the goal of every American. I think that’s what makes this country special. And to me, justice means the innocent should be found innocent. It means that those who do wrong should get their due punishment. Ultimately, it means fair treatment. So a call for justice shouldn't offend or disrespect anybody. A call for justice shouldn't warrant an apology.
The Cleveland police union president Jeff Follmer followed up that elegantly explained thought with this:
"He's an athlete. He's someone with no facts of the case whatsoever," Follmer said. "He's disrespecting the police on a job that we had to do and make a split-second decision."
[...]
"He should stick to playing football and let us worry about law enforcement," Follmer said. "The players don't know what our job entails. Don't judge us by what you're reading in the media."
[my emphasis]
A 12-year-old with a toy gun is killed in less than two seconds by a police officer. I think I can judge you and how terrible you are at your jobs just fine.
Andrew Hawkins is a father and yes, he does play football.
“As you well know, and it's well documented, I have a 2-year-old little boy," Hawkins said. "The same 2-year-old little boy that everyone said was cute when I jokingly threw him out of the house earlier this year. That little boy is my entire world. And the No. 1 reason for me wearing the T-shirt was the thought of what happened to Tamir Rice happening to my little Austin scares the living hell out of me. And my heart was broken for the parents of Tamir and John Crawford knowing they had to live that nightmare of a reality. So, like I said, I made the conscious decision to wear the T-shirt. I felt my heart was in the right place. I'm at peace with it.
I think Mr. Hawkins’ heart is in the right place and Mr. Follmer should spend more time worrying about how to stop covering up child-murderers and get on the right side of humanity. You can watch Andrew Hawkins’ interview below the fold.
