By Kent Somers | Arizona Republic
Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald is equally adept at catching footballs and avoiding controversy. So, it wasn’t a surprise his first public words after George Floyd’s murder, via an essay in the New York Times last Sunday, were conciliatory, not inflammatory.
But words don’t have to inflame to have power. That was proven on Friday when Fitzgerald spoke to Arizona reporters for the first time since Floyd’s death. The conference call lasted almost 30 minutes and very little of it had to do with football.
Fitzgerald grew up in Minneapolis and still considers it home. So, his perspective is both unique and important.
Since most, or all, of you would rather hear from Fitzgerald than me, I’ll let his words take over most of this column. There is some editing for brevity and clarity.
Almost two weeks passed between the death of George Floyd (on May 25) and your essay. What were you doing in that time?