Deshaun Watson to Wear Special Jersey Before NFL Week 12 Thanksgiving Game

Deshaun Watson will arrive to the Lions game wearing a special jersey. Watson’s jersey will be honoring George Floyd.

Before the Texans’ game on #Thanksgiving Day, the star quarterback will wear a special jersey to honor the late Houston native.https://t.co/BBYoIzathm

— The Undefeated (@TheUndefeated) November 26, 2020

Watson usually wears a traditional Texans jersey or some other casual pre-game outfit, but for this game he decided to switch it up.

Also read: Reddit NFL Streams: Where to Watch Week 12 NFL Thanksgiving Games for Free Without r/nflstreams

Deshaun Watson Honors George Floyd

Watson’s special pre-game jersey has a lot of meaning behind it. For one, the jersey reads “Yates” instead of Texans, which represents Yates High School which sits just 7 miles away from the Texans’ stadium.

Additionally, the jersey also has the initials “GF” stitched above the high school name. This pays homage to George Floyd, a Houston native, who played football at Yates high school and graduated from there in 1993.

Of course, George Floyd was killed while in the custody of policemen in Minneapolis. His death, and several other incidents of police brutality against the African-American community, sparked a large social justice movement, led by Floyd’s last words: “I can’t breathe.”

Watson’s jersey also honors this as the word “Breathe” appears inside the collar. Watson’s gesture will surely be appreciated by the NFL community. Athletes across all sports having been a major driving force in the fight for social justice and Watson’s jersey choice is just another example of that.

Watson is using his platform in many other ways too. For example, Nike approached Watson with a great opportunity to help kids from Floyd’s alma mater.

Watson readily complied. He also featured in a five-minute film by Nike which showed how Watson was giving back to local communities.

Here is what Watson had to say:

“As someone that cares about these important issues and using my voice to inspire change, collaborating with Nike has given me the platform and resources to make a difference for these young kids. If I can make a positive impression on just one kid, I’m making a difference.”

Also read: Reddit NFL Streams: Where to Watch Week 12 NFL Thanksgiving Games for Free Without r/nflstreams

About the author

Ashish Priyadarshi

Ashish Priyadarshi is The SportsRush's content manager and editor. Ashish freelanced for 1 year in the NFL division before taking on an editorial role in the company. He then tacked on managing content while adding on a writing role in the NBA division. Ashish has been closely following the NFL and NBA since the 2012 season when the Patriots lost the Super Bowl and Derrick Rose was at the height of his powers. Since then, Ashish has focused on honing his knowledge for both leagues in, even writing crossover pieces. In his free time, Ashish is an avid basketball player, he loves to watch movies and TV shows, immersing himself in the cinematic world. Ashish studies computer science and data science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and would love to mesh his love for sports with his technical skills.

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