Von Miller is without a doubt the biggest superstar currently with the Denver Broncos.
In fact, if one were to list the best defenders in the vaunted history of the Broncos, Miller would almost certainly land at the top of that list. He was Defensive Rookie of the Year, a three-time All-Pro and Super Bowl 50 MVP.
And now, Miller is using his fame as the face of the franchise to speak out against the police brutality — the cold-blooded killing of George Floyd — as well as violence peaceful protestors have endured over the last week.
He did so in a thread of tweets on Wednesday night:
not hunt & destroy.
While I support the nationwide protests because they are necessary & I understand our people’s pain, the value of our lives can’t be relegated to a moment in time. We need actual changes implemented across the board in order to dismantle systemic racism.
— Von Miller (@VonMiller) June 4, 2020
Black Lives Matter. Black men’s lives matter. Black women’s lives matter. All lives can’t matter if they don’t.
_____
Be safe, everybody. And if there’s any way I can do more to amplify the cause on my platform, please let me know & I will.
— Von Miller (@VonMiller) June 4, 2020
“Black lives matter,” Miller’s quote reads. “All lives can’t matter if they don’t.”
Powerful. Truthful. Simple.
For Miller, the decision to be outspoken on this subject must have come with some deliberate thought. He’s been sponsored by Old Spice and others in the past; speaking out like this could end those arrangements.
Brandon Marshall, a former teammate of Marshall’s, knows what it means to be pushed out of the league for speaking out. In 2016, Marshall was the first Broncos player to kneel during the National Anthem in a peaceful protest against police brutality. Miller joined him, but Marshall — a lesser player — was eventually moved from the team when his contract ran out, and at only 30 years old, it out of the NFL.
Marshall, who was college teammates with Colin Kaepernick, now shares the same fate; each have been blackballed from the league.
That won’t happen to Miller, but Marshall went on the Afternoon Drive last week to talk about what must happen next.
“People are finally understanding now what message we were trying to convey back in 2016…I think back to 2016; the only thing we were missing was prominent white figures protesting or speaking up about it.”
Meanwhile, prominent white figures have not been stepping up to the plate.
Drew Brees did literally the opposite with his tone-deaf response saying he will never agree with someone disrespecting the flag. Attention, Drew: That’s not what they’re doing. It’s been explained over and over again, but Brees decided to tow the company line and go with the story some politicians created to paint the athletes as the bad ones.
Justin Simmons, a currently blossoming Broncos superstar tried to explain to Brees:
I heard in this video "What I see, What I feel" I think what Kaep was doing is challenging us to look beyond what YOU see and see what your black community sees and feels. It's only then YOU will see it isn't about the military but police brutality and equality. https://t.co/mt2ifPaX3C
— Justin Simmons (@jsimms1119) June 3, 2020
So, which white stars will step up?
