Minnesota Vikings to host George Floyd's family for season opener against Packers

Minnesota Vikings will host the family of George Floyd at the U.S. Bank Stadium for their 2020-21 season opener against the Green Bay Packers. The Vikings released their scheduled pregame plan for Sunday's NFL game, which will revolve around showing their support for the anti-racism movement that took the country by storm in recent months. 

"The Minnesota Vikings will continue to use the team's platform to bring awareness to critical issues of racism and injustice when they kick off the season this Sunday, September 13, against the Green Bay Packers," the press release read. 

Minnesota Vikings to honour George Floyd and his family during Sunday's season opener

The Vikings' message towards anti-racism will be on full-show right from the start as players will don "custom t-shirts with 'Be the Change' verbiage on the front and the names of 200 individuals, who have been killed by acts of racism or police brutality on the back." At the conclusion of the warmup routine, a pre-recorded musical performance of James Weldon Johnson's Lift Every Voice and Sing will accompany a video montage highlighting the social justice work that NFL teams and players have done in the recent months. The Vikings will then recognise George Floyd's family at the stadium, which will be a way to honour the 46-year-old African-American, who were victims to racial violence and police brutality in Minnesota. 

Floyd was killed by then Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who pressed his knee against Floyd's neck for over eight minutes while the former was pinned down face first on the ground. Floyd's death sparked the global Black Lives Matter movement, with protests seen across most major cities in the US. 

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Minnesota Vikings will further highlight their anti-racism message during the game as the end zones during Sunday's season opener will be marked with messages, "It Takes All of Us" and "End Racism" - a unified message that will be seen during the most of the Week 1 fixtures. Furthermore, players and coaches will have the option to carry a social justice message of their choice via decals on helmet or patches on hats. 

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The Vikings have taken initiative on a community level since the death of Floyd rocked the northern state. Back in June, the franchise announced a donation of $5 million to support various social justice causes and also started a college scholarship in the name of George Floyd that will be awarded to Black students annually. The scholarship, named the George Floyd Legacy Scholarship, will carry an establishing gift of $125,000 by the Vikings Social Justice Committee.

The Vikings also announced that they won't be hosting any fans during their first two home games of the season - vs Packers on Sunday and vs Tennessee Titans on September 27 - citing health and safety concerns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sunday's game will kickoff at 1:00 PM ET (10:30 PM IST). 

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(Image Credits: Minnesota Vikings Instagram Handle)