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Pro-Police Group Declines Invite from NFL's Jets Over Player's Celebration of Cop Killing

"If I am correct the JETS may have signed an individual who depicted a Grim Reaper slicing the throat of a police officer," Imperatrice wrote, including a photo of the controversial 2016 social media post.

August 21, 2018
2 min to read


The NFL's New York Jets wanted to partner with Blue Lives Matter this season, but the pro-police group has declined — claiming the NFL doesn’t respect officers, and flagging the Jets for signing a player who once posted an image of an officer’s throat being slashed on social media.

"With the NFL season right around the corner, there is no better time to open up a conversation about how your business/organization can benefit from a partnership with the New York Jets," reads a Tuesday email from the Jets' Anthony Bulak to Blue Lives Matter founder Joe Imperatrice.

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But Imperatrice spiked the proposal within minutes. "Although I’d love to work with an NFL team right now I feel it is not the right time. All over the United States players feel entitled to disrespect our first responders, our military members both past and present and our flag. These players make more money in a season than some people make in a lifetime and their 'Issues' are made up, exaggerated, and more times than not false," he responded, according to emails shared with The Post.

Bulak tried to smooth things over by pointing out that no Jet has knelt during the national anthem, the New York Post reports.

But Imperatrice fired back that the Jets just signed running back Isaiah Crowell, who once posted to Instagram a grisly illustration of a dark figure slashing a cop’s throat.

"If I am correct the JETS may have signed an individual who depicted a Grim Reaper slicing the throat of a police officer," Imperatrice wrote, including a photo of the controversial 2016 social media post.

Crowell, who played for the Cleveland Browns at the time, removed the image and apologized but was not disciplined.

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