Jaylen Brown isn’t alone in his fight for racial justice in Massachusetts.
Devin and Jason McCourty long have advocated for similar ideas and policies aimed at curbing racism and other forms of bigotry. And now, the New England Patriots stars are supporting Brown’s latest effort to address what they believe is a major violation of people’s rights.
The Boston Celtics star took to Twitter on Monday asking followers and Massachusetts to “take a stand” and urge local officials to pass “strong” regulations on a facial recognition-based surveillance system via a police reform bill passed by the legislators earlier this month.
It’s a matter he and the entire Celtics roster discussed in their joint Op-Ed published in the Boston Globe this week. The piece was directed at Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker.
The McCourty brothers offered a similar message Saturday night on the social media platform.
“Solidarity with @FCHWPO and the Celtics players raising awareness about surveillance and police reform,” the twins tweeted. “These are important racial justice issues that we can’t ignore in Massachusetts.”
The McCourtys claim several Patriots players “were falsely matched to arrest photos by racist facial recognition programs in an experiment,” citing a recent test of the system conducted by the ACLU of Massachusetts. 14 Patriots and two Celtics players of past and present allegedly were identified in the exercise.
That’s why the McCourtys are asking the state to regulate what they consider “biased technology.”
“There are serious issues of police abuse in our community,” the twins said in a tweet directed at Gov. Baker, House speaker Bob DeLeo and Senate president Karne Spilka. “This police bill is just a first step. We need to pass it and do more to prevent police from abusing their power.”
