According to Todd Archer of ESPN on Wednesday, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott of Sulphur, Louisiana has made a significant financial donation to help towards systematic racial awareness training among police officers in the United States. Prescott is making a $1 million donation with an expected focus of further education.
Prescott is making this generous donation after African-American George Floyd was killed last week by police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis. Chauvin was seen placing his knee on Floyd’s neck for a minimum of eight minutes during an arrest. Chauvin was subsequently charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter. There were three other police officers also at the scene who have also been charged.
The protests in the United States against the police officers’ actions (or the lack of action for three of the four officers) have been massive. Protests have occurred in large numbers, resulting in 11,000 arrests and 17 subsequent deaths. Over the last 24 hours, the family of George Floyd is requesting for the same charge against Chauvin if the roles between Chauvin and Floyd had been reversed. For example, if Floyd had placed his knee on Chauvin for eight minutes. If the Floyd family’s request is granted, the charges could be upgraded to first-degree murder. There is no death penalty in Minnesota.
This has been a tough time for Prescott as of late. Earlier this year, his brother Jace died on April 23. Then it was reported Prescott faced anxiety. The Cowboys quarterback also received significant criticism in the media for hosting a birthday party for one of his friends when the state of Texas was in lockdown because of coronavirus.
