As the third-longest tenured player on the team and one of its three holdover captains, defensive lineman Cameron Heyward has a voice among the Pittsburgh Steelers.
As one of the team’s more gregarious and popular players, Heyward often is looked to as something of an unofficial Steelers player spokesman.
On Monday, Heyward spoke about topics that much of the nation has been talking about in recent days: police brutality and racial tensions in the wake of the death of George Floyd while in custody of Minneapolis police.
As part of one of his regular appearances on the 102.5 FM morning show, Heyward multiple times emphasized sentiments about police such as, “so many of them are great people and so many great cops that do a great job.” But Heyward said even his status as a well-known professional football player has not left him immune from feeling threatened by law enforcement.
“My wife is white, and we have had a talk like this, and I have had to tell her ‘I don’t always feel comfortable around police officers,’ ” Heyward said. “I almost feel like I have to be to-the-book and be to-the-T. I have to make sure they know that I am not in any instance trying to make them feel threatened. I almost have to articulate even more and make sure that I want them to be safe.”
#Steelers Captain #CamHeyward admits his own feelings of insecurity when being around police officers at times despite being a professional athlete, and how a routine traffic stop escalated into a fearful situation for him and a friend.
— 102.5 WDVE (@DVERADIO) June 1, 2020
WATCH -> https://t.co/mmy0V6LL7n
Heyward relayed a story that once after arriving after a late-night flight, he got pulled over but had to retrieve his wallet from luggage in the back of his car. Three officers’ vehicles showed up at the scene.
“There’s been times where like there is almost like a radar in my brain,” Heyward said, “where I am like, ‘OK, I’ve got to make sure things don’t get out of hand.’ ”
Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis Police Department officer who was filmed kneeling on Floyd’s neck, was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Three other officers at the scene at the time have been fired but have not yet been charged with a crime.
Protests have been ongoing in cities across the nation.
“I want these protesters to have their voices be heard,” Heyward said on 102.5 FM. “I’m all for everybody giving people a fair shake, but how those three cops were not arrested when it comes to George Floyd? It’s a spiral, and we are worrying about protesting now instead of worrying about the people who need to be arrested, get arrested.
“There are great people that protect our world, but we have racism and people not being for the betterment of our world or the betterment of every man. We are living in a screwed-up world.”
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