Sports

Serena Williams Says She ‘Won’t Be Silent’ About Police Involved Shootings Anymore

(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

Katie Jerkovich Entertainment Reporter
Font Size:

Serena Williams said she “won’t be silent” about police involved shootings anymore.

On Tuesday, the 35-year-old tennis star posted a lengthy statement on her Facebook account as she recalled worrying about her nephew’s safety when he drove her to work the other day. In the post Williams references the video taken by Diamond Reynolds, who captured and shared video of Philando Castile, who was shot in Minnesota in July in a police involved shooting. (RELATED: Tennis Legend Says Serena Williams Would Have No Chance Against An Elite Guy [VIDEO])

Serena Williams reacts during her match against Elina Svitolina of Ukraine. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

(photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

“Today I asked my 18-year-old nephew (to be clear he’s black) to drive me to my meetings so I can work on my phone #safetyfirst,” Serena wrote. “In the distance I saw cop on the side of the road. I quickly checked to see if he was obliging by the speed limit.” (RELATED: Serena Loses Major Wimbledon Prize Money After Brexit)

“Than I remembered that horrible video of the woman in the car when a cop shot her boyfriend,” she added. “All of this went through my mind in a matter of seconds. I even regretted not driving myself. I would never forgive myself if something happened to my nephew.”

“He’s so innocent,” she continued. “So were all ‘the others.’ I am a total believer that not ‘everyone’ is bad. It is just the ones that are ignorant, afraid, uneducated, and insensitive that is affecting millions and millions of lives.”

2016 Rio Olympics - Tennis - Preliminary - Women's Singles First Round - Olympic Tennis Centre - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 07/08/2016. Serena Williams (USA) of USA in action against Daria Gavrilova (AUS) of Australia. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

(photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

“Why did I have to think about this in 2016,” she wrote. “Have we not gone through enough, opened so many doors, impacted billions of lives? But I realized we must stride on — for it’s not how far we have come but how much further still we have to go.”

“I than wondered than have I spoken up,” she added. “I had to take a look at me. What about my nephews? What if I have a son and what about my daughters?”

“As Dr. Martin Luther King said ‘There comes a time when silence is betrayal,'” she continued. “I Won’t Be Silent. Serena.”