George Floyd's murder -- and the graphic footage that captured his final breaths -- rocked athletes, coaches and executives throughout professional and amateur sports. With the country already on edge just a couple months into the COVID-19 pandemic, a viral video showed then-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes before Floyd died on May 25, 2020.
The death of an unarmed Black man by police was not a new occurrence in America, with the shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright this month being the latest reminder. But Floyd's killing seemed to have a galvanizing effect on the sports world.