Despite some complaining from the St. Louis Police Officer’s Association, the NFL will not discipline any of the St. Louis Rams who took part in a pre-game Ferguson protest on Sunday.
During the pre-game introductions, Rams players Steadman Bailey, Jared Cook, Chris Givens, Kenny Britt and Tavon Austin entered the field of play with their hands up in the air like Ferguson protesters have done since the shooting of Michael Brown. The display angered the St. Louis Police Officer’s Association, which responded with a statement of their own:
The St. Louis Police Officers Association is profoundly disappointed with the members of the St. Louis Rams football team who chose to ignore the mountains of evidence released from the St. Louis County Grand Jury this week and engage in a display that police officers around the nation found tasteless, offensive and inflammatory.
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The SLPOA is calling for the players involved to be disciplined and for the Rams and the NFL to deliver a very public apology.
The NFL has responded to the SLPOA with a very kindly worded, “thanks but no thanks” to the SLPOA.
“We respect and understand the concerns of all individuals who have expressed views on this tragic situation,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said.
He said that the NFL had nothing further to add and that the players would not be disciplined.
The players who took part in the protest insist that they did so to show solidarity with the community.
“We wanted to do something. … This is our community,” Cook said.
