Retired NFL star Anquan Boldin says he's disappointed with "inaction" following Ahmaud Arbery's death
Retired NFL star Anquan Boldin says he's disappointed with the "inaction" and "the lack of accountability" following the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery. The two suspects, a former police detective and his son, were charged with murder 74 days after the fatal shooting in Brunswick, Georgia.
"It wasn't until the video became public and the outcry became very loud that people started to take action," Boldin told CBS News' James Brown on Tuesday. "It's also disappointing to see the lack of accountability for those that are in positions of authority to make sure that the law is abided by."
Boldin is a co-founder of the Players Coalition, a social justice organization of professional athletes. The group last week sent an open letter to Attorney General William Barr calling for an immediate federal investigation into the shooting. The letter was signed by dozens of coaches and athletes.
"We felt like it was the right thing to do," Boldin said. "They have the resources and they have the know-how. They have the experience over the years of coming in and investigating local law enforcement when action has not been taken."
The Justice Department on Monday said it is weighing possible hate crime charges and considering Georgia Attorney General Christopher Carr's request for a federal probe into how the case was handled.
"We are assessing all of the evidence to determine whether federal hate crimes charges are appropriate. In addition, we are considering the request of the Attorney General of Georgia and have asked that he forward to federal authorities any information that he has about the handling of the investigation," department spokesperson Kerri Kupec said in a statement.
Boldin pointed to white coaches and athletes who signed the group's letter to Barr, including Tom Brady and Steve Kerr, calling this a reflection of the frustration many Americans feel toward social injustice
"In the past, it has been majority African Americans who have been speaking out about this problem," he said. "I think there's a lot of people in this country who are sick and tired and fed up of the way things are going. And they are tired of turning on the news and seeing unarmed black men and women shot dead in the streets."
Boldin, whose cousin, Corey Jones, was shot by an off-duty police officer in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, in 2015, explained why social justice is so personal to him.
"We have seen, too often in this country, people doing normal activities and because of the color of their skin it cost them their lives," he said. "We've seen a young man sitting in his living room watching TV, and it cost him his life. We have seen, in the case of my cousin, him breaking down on the side of the road and waiting on roadside assistance, and it cost him his life. We see, with Ahmaud Arbery, him taking a jog in his community, and it cost him his life."