"Somehow, it seems there's a line drawn in the sand where destruction of property because of a sports victory is okay and acceptable in America. However, if you have people who are fighting for their most basic human right, the right to live, they will be condemned," Black Lives Matter New York President Hawk Newsome told Newsweek on Monday.
"You can riot if you're white and your team wins, but if you're black and being killed, you can't speak out," Newsome added.
As emergency responders struggled to subdue the mayhem of thousands of rioters tearing through Philadelphia streets Sunday night, officials reacted by gently telling the perpetrators to just "go home" instead of condemning them for their destructive behavior. Only three arrests were made on Sunday despite the thousands of people engaging in unlawful activities.
"Still going strong in the [Office of Emergency Management]. But, if everyone could go home that would be great," Philadelphia Police Sergeant Brian Geer wrote on Twitter at 9:30 p.m., adding, "We have to get some rest to start planning a parade in the morning."
According to Modiano, who spoke with Sputnik Radio's By Any Means Necessary on Monday, the double standard regarding how sports rioters are treated by law enforcement is exhibited time and time again.
"I follow sports rioting," Modiano told hosts Eugene Puryear and Sean Blackmon. "It's treated as an innocent thing: that boys will be boys. But when this happens in Ferguson, people go to jail," he said, referring to the civil unrest and resistance that began after the shooting of Michael Brown by white Police Officer Darren Wilson in 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri.
"There are real consequences to rioting for some people and so we can't just brush them off as nothing… this is troubling. Every time we have a chance to point out this double standard, we have to, because there are people doing time for organizing protests," he added.
The Black Lives Matter coalition, which campaigns against violence and systematic racism toward black people, gained increasing attention and momentum after activists organized protests in response to the death of teenager Trayvon Martin, who was shot by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman as he was walking home from a store in Sanford, Florida, in 2012.
Civil unrest also erupted in Baltimore in 2015 following the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who was arrested by the Baltimore Police Department for allegedly possessing an illegal switchblade. While being transported in a police vehicle after his arrest, Grey sustained neck and spine injuries, falling into a coma.
According to a medical examiner, Gray's death was a homicide and resulted in six officers being charged with second-degree murder, although none were convicted.
During the protests in Baltimore following Gray's death, rioters destroyed a CVS pharmacy and cash exchange and smashed hundreds of police vehicles. At least 34 people were arrested for rioting.
"They were just so angry they didn't know how to express themselves any other way. That's why they were rioting. It's not like they were doing it in the name of fun," Newsome said.
"I wish they wouldn't riot, but I can't condemn them and neither can anyone else, especially not the media, especially not politicians when they condone people who are just drunk and destroying property because their team won," Newsome explained.
According to Modiano, Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who became famous for taking a knee during the national anthem before games in 2016 in peaceful protest against racial injustice and police brutality in the US, deserves credit for shedding light on the rampant systematic racism that exists in America.
"We do give Kaepernick credit for [shedding light on the double standard]. It's not like nobody wrote about these things, but the people who wrote about them were on the margins. We're seeing this double standard being reported in mainstream outlets now and Kaepernick has to get a lot of credit for it," Modiano told Radio Sputnik. He noted the irony that many take issue with take-a-knee protests in the NFL, which are peaceful protests against police brutality, but are quick to laugh off white people causing thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in property damage to celebrate a sports victory.
