Athletes blew up Twitter in the aftermath of the verdict ruling George Zimmerman not guilty.
Athletes blew up Twitter in the aftermath of the verdict ruling George Zimmerman not guilty.

As you probably know, George Zimmerman was found not guilty of second degree murder and manslaughter. The death of Trayvon Martin could not be proven to be anything other than self-defense, and because of that the ‘Stand Your Ground’ clause in Florida made his retaliation perfectly legal.

The all woman jury took 15 hours of deliberation over two days before finally reaching a unanimous decision in the fatal shooting that resulted in the death of 17 year old Trayvon Martin on February 26, 2012.

As a nation, we were captivated by this case from the beginning, people on both sides openly argued their opinion through any media they could find. News constantly talked about it, but all one had to do to learn the latest updates was log on to Facebook or Twitter to find a raging debate between their friends.

Athletes are no different than the rest of us, throughout the trial athletes shared their views with us, such as the Miami Heat posing in hoodies to show support for Trayvon and his family.

Lebron Tweeted this picture after the death of Trayvon Martin with the hashtag #wewantjustice.
Lebron Tweeted this picture after the death of Trayvon Martin with the hashtag #wewantjustice.

 

The strong feelings people had in this case didn’t go away with the reading of the verdict, as athletes from all over stormed to their computers and smart phones to Tweet out their emotions following the reading of the juries decision.

Some posts were vulgar, such as those by Roddy White and Victor Cruz of the NFL.

 

Cruz  tweeted that “Zimmerman doesn’t last a year til the hood catches up to him” but later deleted the post.

Many athletes reacted to the verdict of Zimmerman’s innocence by expressing sympathy towards Trayvon Martin and his family.

 

Other athletes were confused as to how the Zimmerman verdict could have been what it was.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Changing the legal system as a result of this verdict was a theme many athletes publicized on Twitter.

 

Our justice system is broken! Attorneys skills are deciding cases, might as well be sport, theatre. Justice should be more thorough. #Reform — Royce White (@Highway_30) July 14, 2013

Racial Prejudice was prevalent in many athlete’s posts regarding George Zimmerman and the court’s ruling.

 

Preventing violence from resulting from the decision, and urging rational behavior to prevail was another sentiment commonly expressed by athletes in the aftermath of the verdict.

 

Athletes reacted much like the rest of us following the verdict being read in the trial of George Zimmerman. The posts of the athletes supporting the verdict were largely absent, but it kind of makes sense that those upset would be more motivated to post. The sentiments expressed carry the same range of emotions that the national as a whole was experiencing in the aftermath of the trial.

Although this has nothing to do with sports, it shows us that we are all not so different. Even though athletes are superstars they can not help but voice their two cents on a trial as captivating as this one proved to be for our nation.

Follow me on Twitter @CharlieGille

Senior Sports Editor

The Guardian Express

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