'We Must Do More,' Cleveland Browns Say After Ohio Protests

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns and Columbus Crew franchises issued a joint statement calling on Americans to work together to end racism. The two franchises also advocated non-violent protest following a weekend of riots in Ohio.

The protests were sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Floyd died after being arrested by Minneapolis police. Video of his arrest shows officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck, while Floyd repeatedly says he "cannot breathe." Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter on Friday.

Protests then erupted across the nation, including several cities in Ohio. In Cleveland and Columbus, some of the protests turned to destruction of property and vandalism. The Browns and Crew have urged Ohioans to engage in non-violent protests.

"With yet more tragic deaths, we, as a nation and as individuals, must truly create meaningful dialogue, have difficult conversation, demonstrate real empathy and take productive and non-violent action to address injustices," the franchises said in their statement.

The Ohio National Guard was deployed to both Cleveland and Columbus to aid police in stymieing the protests. Curfews were also implemented in both cities.

"We take great pride in our city and in our region and recognize the suffering in the African American community throughout the country. Although, we, like many others have worked to advocate for social justice, now more than ever, we must do even more to work collectively to end racism and bond together for justice and equality," the statement concluded.

The full statement can be read below.

"Sports can be a great unifier in our communities for what teams do on the field and we must work together to elevate our efforts and our actions to ensure that we can be a positive and productive change agent off the field.

With yet more tragic deaths, we, as a nation and as individuals, must truly create meaningful dialogue, have difficult conversation, demonstrate real empathy and take productive and non-violent action to address injustices.

These are complex issues that no sports team can solve on its own. We can only help create change by working together with our community, our players and our entire region to find solutions.

We take great pride in our city and in our region and recognize the suffering in the African American community throughout the country. Although, we, like many others have worked to advocate for social justice, now more than ever, we must do even more to work collectively to end racism and bond together for justice and equality."