Udonis Haslem Wants To Be ‘Part of the Solution’

Miami Heat veteran Udonis Haslem has conveyed his mixed feelings about the nationwide protests against police brutality. 

The past week has seen violent protests break out across the U.S as a result of the murder of George Floyd by a police officer. 

Police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for 7 minutes until he could no longer breathe. Chauvin ignored pleas from onlookers as well as his fellow law enforcement officers. 

The protests, which began in Minneapolis, are now happening nationwide. They have led to looting, violence and further police brutality.

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Udonis Haslem, who has family in the police department, doesn’t know how to feel about the protests. 

“There definitely has to be justice for George [Floyd]; there definitely has to be protests for what happened to George. But I’d be lying if I said that it’s been going about the right way,” Udonis Haslem said.

“I’d be lying if I said that I’m proud of what’s really been going on. I have an obligation to this community, because this community has done so much for me. But I also have an obligation to the police department, as well. So many of my family members come here every day. They work, they take care of people, they make sure people are safe, so there’s got to be a better way. I stand here right now confused, torn, frustrated.

“I just want to be a part of the solution. We have to have a plan moving forward. It has to be together.”

Read: Raiders Owner Mark Davis Ready To Do Something After George Floyd’s Death

“They were terrible people before they put that badge on, man. For you to stand there and watch that, it’s got nothing to do with your badge, it’s got nothing to do with your color, it has nothing to do with your race; it’s something inside you that’s messed up,” Haslem said of the officers involved in Floyd’s death. 

“It’s your soul that ain’t right.”