Marco Rubio asks Biden to let Naval Academy graduate play in NFL
20 June 2021
Sen. Marco Rubio (R.-Fla.) wrote to President Biden on Sunday asking the commander in chief to grant a waiver that would allow Naval Academy graduate Cameron Kinley to play in the NFL, the Hill reports.
The big picture: Rubio's letter comes after the Navy denied Kinley's request to delay his service in order to potentially play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
- As of now, Kinley is required to report for duty on June 28 before intelligence school starts in October, which would last for six months before his duty station assignment, per ESPN.
- Rubio's letter cited examples of previous administrations, which have assisted athletes in the armed forces in delaying their service to seek a professional sports career.
- “In years past, the U.S. Department of Defense has issued many waivers to allow athletes to temporarily delay their service to our nation to pursue their professional sports dreams,” Rubio wrote. “Unfortunately, Mr. Kinley seems to be the exception, and without reason.”
This is wrong.
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) June 19, 2021
I will be asking @POTUS to intervene so Cameron Kinley can pursue his NFL career before he begins his service commitment.
I also intend to ask the nominee for Secretary of the Navy to commit to this. https://t.co/HFHoYizKTv
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.