Former Major League Baseball player Dale Murphy said in a Twitter thread Sunday night that one of his sons was shot in the eye with a rubber bullet by a police officer during a peaceful protest in Denver.
Murphy added that “countless others have also experienced this use of excessive police force while trying to have their voices heard.”
Last night, my son was shot in the eye with a rubber bullet while peacefully protesting for justice for George Floyd. His story is not unique. Countless others have also experienced this use of excessive police force while trying to have their voices heard.
— Dale Murphy (@DaleMurphy3) June 1, 2020
— Dale Murphy (@DaleMurphy3) June 1, 2020
Murphy didn’t make clear which of his seven sons was shot, but the two-time National League Most Valuable Player said his son was wearing goggles he had been given by a stranger and that another stranger drove him to the emergency room.
Luckily, his eye was saved due to a kind stranger that was handing out goggles to protestors shortly before the shooting and another kind stranger that drove him to the ER. Others were not so lucky and will be permanently disabled due to excessive police force
— Dale Murphy (@DaleMurphy3) June 1, 2020
Murphy used the incident as an opportunity to address racism and police brutality in the United States.
As terrible as this experience has been, we know that it's practically nothing compared to the systemic racism and violence against Black life that he was protesting in the first place. Black communities across America have been terrorized for centuries by excessive police force.
— Dale Murphy (@DaleMurphy3) June 1, 2020
If you're a beneficiary of systemic racism, then you will not be able to dismantle it at no cost to yourself. You will have to put yourself at risk. It might not always result in being physically attacked, but it will require you to make yourself vulnerable.
— Dale Murphy (@DaleMurphy3) June 1, 2020
Please consider taking action for a more just world. You can protest peacefully. You can donate to your local @Blklivesmatter chapter, the @NAACP_LDF or read this guide for other ways to help protestors. https://t.co/tdA8npGEym
— Dale Murphy (@DaleMurphy3) June 1, 2020
Murphy added a drawing his son Tyson created of George Floyd, a black man who died after he was pinned at the neck by a white Minneapolis police officer last week.
Drawing by @Tysmurph https://t.co/k0DQpueCIU https://t.co/EEDEisVS3W pic.twitter.com/wdoRQ5WY9P
— Dale Murphy (@DaleMurphy3) June 1, 2020