Categories: Celebs

Michael Jordan Finally Breaks His Silence On Police Brutality

<p>It is no secret that the Black community drops millions of dollars on the latest Jordan sneakers each year&comma; making former basketball star&comma; Michael Jordan a major  influence in Black culture&period; Well with that being said many have criticized him on his radio silence when it comes to the racial turmoil going on today &&num;8230&semi;&period; Well today he has finally spoken&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In a letter posted to ESPN&&num;8217&semi;s The Undefeated&comma; Jordan says he can &&num;8220&semi;no longer stay silent&&num;8221&semi; on the topic of police brutality and how it is plaguing the country&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;As a proud American&comma; a father who lost his own dad in a senseless act of violence&comma; and a black man&comma; I have been deeply troubled by the deaths of African-Americans at the hands of law enforcement and angered by the cowardly and hateful targeting and killing of police officers&comma;&&num;8221&semi; Jordan wrote&period; &&num;8220&semi;I grieve with the families who have lost loved ones&comma; as I know their pain all too well&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>He doesn&&num;8217&semi;t go into specific details on whose death really compelled him to speak but he makes it clear that a solution needs to come soon&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;I was raised by parents who taught me to love and respect people regardless of their race or background&comma; so I am saddened and frustrated by the divisive rhetoric and racial tensions that seem to be getting worse as of late&period; I know this country is better than that&comma; and I can no longer stay silent&period; We need to find solutions that ensure people of color receive fair and equal treatment AND that police officers – who put their lives on the line every day to protect us all – are respected and supported&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>If his words came as a surprise&comma; don&&num;8217&semi;t worry he didn&&num;8217&semi;t stop there&comma; he also vowed to put his money where his mouth is and donate &dollar;1 million to two organizations in support of the fight&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;To support that effort&comma; I am making contributions of &dollar;1 million each to two organizations&comma; the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s newly established Institute for Community-Police Relations and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund&period; The Institute for Community-Police Relations’ policy and oversight work is focused on building trust and promoting best practices in community policing&period; My donation to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund&comma; the nation’s oldest civil rights law organization&comma; will support its ongoing work in support of reforms that will build trust and respect between communities and law enforcement&period; Although I know these contributions alone are not enough to solve the problem&comma; I hope the resources will help both organizations make a positive difference&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Hopefully this will be the push that America needs to really make a change&excl; Check out the rest of his <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;theundefeated&period;com&sol;features&sol;michael-jordan-i-can-no-longer-stay-silent&sol;">Letter<&sol;a> and let&&num;8217&semi;s chat below&excl;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>TSR STAFF&colon; Debra Oh&excl; &commat;The&lowbar;Ebony&lowbar;Issue on IG<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Source&colon; https&colon;&sol;&sol;theundefeated&period;com&sol;features&sol;michael-jordan-i-can-no-longer-stay-silent&sol;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine; <div class&equals;"wpra-reactions-wrap wpra-plugin-container" style&equals;"justify-content&colon; center&semi;&semi;"> <div class&equals;"wpra-reactions-container" data-ver&equals;"1&period;3&period;10" data-post&lowbar;id&equals;"21050" data-show&lowbar;count&equals;"true" data-enable&lowbar;share&equals;"onclick" data-behavior&equals;"regular" data-animation&equals;"true" data-share&lowbar;url&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;dev&period;theshaderoom&period;com&sol;21050-2&sol;" data-secure&equals;"1498eb43b2"> <div class&equals;"wpra-call-to-action" style&equals;"color&colon; 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