Boxing champion Floyd Mayweather has reportedly vowed to pay for the funeral services planned for George Floyd, who died in police custody May 25.
In a private conversation with journalist Jason Lee of Hollywood Unlocked, Mayweather revealed that the death of the 46-year-old bouncer hit particularly hard. The boxer told Lee that he recently discovered his friend, Anzel Jennings, grew up with Floyd in Houston. Jennings is CEO of Mayweather's record label TMT.
On Mayweather’s behalf, Jennings reached out to the Floyd family to let them know the 43-year-old athlete would be willing to pay for Floyd’s funerals in his hometown of Houston, Minnesota and Charlotte. There will be a fourth service held at an undisclosed location, which Mayweather also agreed to fund.
On May 25, Floyd was arrested after a Minneapolis store clerk called police, claiming Floyd had used a counterfeit $20 bill to pay for items. In subsequent cellphone video footage, former Officer Derek Chauvin can be seen pinning the 6-foot, 6-inch man to the ground with his knee for several minutes. Floyd, a dad to a 6-year-old girl, died shortly after the incident.
On Monday, an autopsy authorized by the family showed that Floyd’s cause of death was asphyxia, according to well-known civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, and was caused by neck and back compression he endured. A previous autopsy by the medical examiner said being restrained and having underlying health issues led to his death.
»MORE: Who was George Floyd?
Floyd’s brother, Terrence Floyd, visited the storefront, which is now a shrine filled with flowers and signs, where his brother died last Monday. He dropped to his knees and kneeled silently; many who were around him joined him on the ground.
The memorial site was a space of calm compared with the devastation left in the wake of fires and violence that paralyzed Minneapolis for days last week before it spread nationwide.
“I understand y’all are upset. I doubt y’all are half as upset as I am,” said Terrence Floyd, who flew in from Houston, where the brothers grew up. “What are y’all doing? ... That’s not going to bring my brother back at all.”
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