Rep. Al Green said on the House floor Wednesday morning that he plans to fly five American flags on Capitol Hill to honor the St. Louis Rams players who entered the field on Sunday in a ’hands up, don’t shoot’ pose expressing solidarity with Ferguson protesters.
“I have already said that I will have flags flown over the Capitol of the United States of America in each person’s name,” the Texas Democrat said, adding that he believes what the players did marked a “seminal moment” in history, CNS News reported.
“I want to legitimize what they did,” he said.
Rams players Stedman Bailey, Tavon Austin, Jared Cook, Chris Givens and Kenny Britt caused a stir Sunday when they came out of the Rams locker room for pregame introductions with their arms raised.
The phrase “hands up, don’t shoot” is a rallying cry used by Ferguson protesters that is based on witnesses’ claims that Michael Brown had surrendered with his hands in the air when he was shot by Officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9.
The NFL said it would not be fining the Rams players for exercising their right to free speech.
Mr. Green said the players should be honored, regardless of of some of their criminal records.
“Somebody is going to say, ’well, what about people who may have committed a crime?’ [George] Washington wasn’t perfect but we honored him. [Thomas] Jefferson wasn’t perfect. We honor him,” he said, CNS reported. “I am going to honor them for what they did in that seminal moment.”
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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