As you’ve probably read by now, a quintet of St. Louis Rams players made a pregame gesture of solidarity with Ferguson, MO protestors by raising their hands (referencing “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot”) during introductions prior to a 52-0 drubbing of Oakland. St. Louis’ police union took umbrage at this demonstration, apparently believing such actions are a greater threat to public safety than, y’know, a neighboring officer shooting an unarmed teenager.
On Monday, St. Louis Police Chief Jon Belmar claimed the Rams had apologized, but that’s since been disputed by the team’s chief operating officer, Kevin Demoff, as ESPN.com details :
“In those conversations, I expressed regret that players’ actions were construed negatively against law enforcement,” Demoff told ESPN.com.
“At no time in any of the conversations did I apologize for the actions of our players,” Demoff added. “[The Rams] do believe it is possible to support both our players’ First Amendment rights and the efforts of local law enforcement to make this a better community.”
The St. Louis County Police Department took to social media to explain its side of the story.
“Even though Mr. Demoff stated he never apologized, the Chief believed it to be an apology and the Chief sent the email to police staff to let them know about the call, after he told Mr. Demoff he would share his sentiments with his staff,” the department said on its Facebook page.