TAMPA, Fla. (WTSP) - A group a current and former athletes and coaches are calling on the U.S. attorney general to take action in the death of Ahmaud Arbery.
The Player's Coalition, in a letter dated Friday, urges Attorney General William Barr to have the FBI and Department of Justice investigate Arbery's death, citing a "conflict of interest" among local authorities.
Arbery, who is black, was shot and killed on Feb. 23 while jogging in a Brunswick, Georgia, neighborhood. Two white men, Gregory and Travis McMichael, were arrested Thursday night and charged with murder and aggravated assault -- 74 days later.
The letter is signed by more than 60 people, former Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Phillip Dorsett and Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady. Also on the list of signatures is New England Patriots' Julian Edleman, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr and NFL executive vice president Troy Vincent.
The group, a nonprofit founded in 2017 with goals of fighting social and racial inequalities, wrote: "We have all now seen the video depicting the final moments of this young man's life and the way in which the McMichaels stalked Mr. Arbery like prey. "
"The local investigation into this case is marred by conflicts, inaction, Barnhills' (prosecutor on the case) very deliberate attempt to ensure that Mr. Arbery received no justice, and the current prosecutor's total failure to act until social media forced his hand," Players Coalition co-founder Anquan Boldin wrote in the letter.
Calls for arrests and justice in Arbery's death have been renewed following the recent emergence of cell phone video. The graphic video shows the final moments of Arbery's life and was reportedly leaked by an attorney on behalf of the McMichaels, the attorney claims.
"Today should've been Ahmaud Arbery's 26th birthday," Boldin wrote in Twitter, sharing the letter. "Instead, our nation is mourning."
In related tweets, the Players Coalition said "a grand jury isn't enough" and "Ahmaud Arbery needs justice."
