Ben Watson’s message for America amid Floyd protests: We need to seek truth
Former New England Patriots player Ben Watson sends a message for America after the death of George Floyd on ‘Fox and Friends Weekend.’
Former NFL tight end Ben Watson reacted to the violent riots sparked by the death of an unarmed black man while in police custody on Memorial Day, saying on “Fox & Friends Weekend” on Sunday that his “message” for America is that “we need to seek truth.”
“A fool looks in the mirror and walks away unchanged,” Watson said on Sunday. “This is a time in America that is very, very important. We would be foolish to walk away from this time unchanged.”
The violent protests across the country left at least three dead, dozens injured, hundreds arrested and buildings and businesses in charred ruins.
The protests were sparked by the May 25 death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a Minneapolis cop, Derek Chauvin, was seen kneeling on his neck in a viral video. Chauvin has been fired and charged with third-degree murder, and the U.S. Justice Department is investigating the case. Crowds across the nation have seized on the racially charged incident to demand justice, but the protests have turned increasingly violent, culminating in a weekend of carnage.
Watson said that he believes “it’s incumbent upon all of us” to address “the reasons why these things continue to happen,” which he said includes the need to seek truth and justice.
“All of us need to seek truth, not what our pride tells us, not what we think our opinion is about ourselves or somebody else, we need to seek truth,” Watson explained.
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He added that “justice comes in many forms, but what we’re seeing is an outcry growing from America that’s lacking truth, that’s lacking justice.”
Host Pete Hegseth asked Watson “What is next?”
“The reason why these things started ... is because George Floyd was killed by a police officer,” Watson said. “When those things stop happening I think you will see an end to this type of unrest.”
He acknowledged that “police officers do great work” and “we want our police officers to be safe,” but added that “people are tired of seeing these things happen over and over again and you’re seeing an outcry.”
He also acknowledged that some of the people at the protests are “there simply to cause problems” and "are not part of the solution.”
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“Those people need to get out of there, but for the rest of us that care about this country, for the rest of us that want things to be better, for the rest of us that really want to see truth and seek justice, that’s what we need to do on a personal level, but also on a corporate level as a country,” Watson said.
Fox News’ Caitlin McFall, Peter Aitken and Dom Calicchio contributed to this report.
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