8x Mr. Olympia champion and former police officer Lee Haney opens up on the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests.
The country and the world has seen an incredibly turbulent week due to massive protests growing across the globe in response to the death of George Floyd. While mostly peaceful, the protests have sparked moments of violence across various communities. The fight for justice in the death of George Floyd and to stop police brutality has reached an apex point. In our latest GI Exclusive interview, legendary bodybuilder and former police officer Lee Haney shares his thoughts on the Black Lives Matter protests.
Lee Haney is one of the most legendary bodybuilders in the history of the sport. He holds eight Mr. Olympia title wins, a world record shared only by Ronnie Coleman. But beyond his decorated and legendary career as a bodybuilder, Haney is a former police officer. So when we sat down with Haney for our scheduled interview, the timing felt right to ask for his thoughts and opinions on the current events happening in the United States. Specifically, the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests that have continued to grow across the nation this past week.
Lee Haney has no qualms making it plain and clear that he sees these protests as a moment of change. As a former police officer, Haney knows that there are certainly passionate and good cops out there in the world – but also agrees that the death of George Floyd was the loss of an innocent life by a police officer who had no right being a cop.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBF0lm_AZyl/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Lee Haney’s recent Instagram post in support of recent protests (above).
“I have a degree in law enforcement. There’s a lot of awesome police officers out there. A lot of whom are my friend. And they put their lives on the line every day so I have the utmost respect and love for each and every one of them,” Lee Haney states in our interview.
“But there are some out there who lack compassion, who lack love, and frankly who don’t need to be a police officer. What we saw in the murder of George Floyd, these guys should never have been on the force.”
Lee Haney continues to say he’s proud to see young people out marching and demanding a change. He thinks the country and the world is fed up with the inaction after multiple deaths of black men and women at the hands of police officers. Eventually, when no action is taken by politicians and elected officials, then the community starts to say enough is enough.
Lee Haney closes out by saying he hopes this time things tip the scales to real change, as he hopes he won’t have to see another innocent black man or woman die due to police brutality. Haney understands there will always be evil in the world. It can never be gone completely, but if the systems can be fixed to create real accountability – this could lead to a bigger change that makes the world a better place.
You can watch Lee Haney’s full comments in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above.
