The sports world has started to take on an added importance as it relates to protests around the United States over the past week. It started with members of the St. Louis Rams engaging in the “hands up, don’t shoot” pose prior to their game against the Oakland Raiders. In the NBA, Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose engaged in a silent protest by wearing a “I can’t breathe” t-shirt in relation to the death of Eric Garner and subsequent decision of a grand jury not to charge the officer in the incident.
Now, it appears that a massive protest is scheduled following the Eagles-Seahawks game on Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia (via NBC Philadelphia).
Clergy leaders with Philadelphia Organized to Witness Empower & Rebuild (POWER) called for a “Solidarity Die-In” which is set to take place Sunday at 7 p.m. at the northeast corner of Broad and Pattison Streets.
The “die-in” is meant to bring public awareness to multiple incidents that have seen unarmed black men killed by white cops in recent months.
POWER indicates that the protests are in relation to the deaths of both Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York. Neither of the cops involved in those incident were indicted by a grand jury.
Considering where and when this demonstration is set to take place, it will definitely get the attention of those attending the all-important matchup between two playoff teams. It will also lead to some major traffic issues and possibly a few arrests. A similar protest took place in Philadelphia on Wednesday. They have also sparked up all around the country since it was announced that the officers in both incidents would not face charges.