Titus O'Neil has been one of the leading voices among the WWE locker room during this time of protests of racial injustice. O'Neil has been lauded by WWE for his community work and is up for the Muhammed Ali Sports Humanitarian Award.
O'Neil spoke to the city of Tampa at a press conference on Wednesday addressing the protests and riots in Tampa, but also across the country following the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota.
O'Neil said he spoke with Tampa Sheriff Chad Chronister and Chief Brian Dugan and asked them questions about the protesting and riots. He stated, "As a country, I'm begging everybody with my platform along with WWE superstar and the NFL and NBA and everyone else; enough is enough. You can't clean up somebody else's house if your own house is dirty. This is not the way to do it. It's ridiculous. To every single person that's protesting and someone telling you it's the wrong thing to do, the hell it aint. It's the right thing to do. If they don't like the way you're doing it, if you're doing it peacefully, screw em. But for you all that are agitating this with your comments and throwing bricks at officers -- if you throw a brick at me, don't think I won't throw something back. [Cops] are humans too, they're not robots. For once, we as a country have an opportunity to come together and say 'enough is enough' for all races. To say, 'this isn't right.' It hasn't been right for years. If you feel like you have to go out and damage something, stay home. I'm not in favor of people rioting and looting. I am in favor of people coming together and taking a stand. That's what we need to do as a community and as a country. We shouldn't be in a conversation of who matters and who doesn't. We should be in a conversation of how human beings should be treated. That's all colors and cultures."
O'Neil said he can't fully go against the police because the police saved his life. He often credits Sheriffs Youth Ranch camp for reshaping his life as a youth. He wants other cities to look at Tampa and say "they did it the right way" and he wants the city to be safe as re-opening begins.
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