Officers’ union calls for St Louis players to be disciplined over ‘hands-up’ gesture and threaten boycott of NFL advertisers

A Missouri police union has condemned players from the St Louis Rams football team for making “hands-up” gestures on the field in solidarity with Michael Brown, the unarmed 18-year-old shot dead in Ferguson, and has threatened to boycott NFL advertisers in response.

The St Louis Police Officers Association claimed that officers found the actions of Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey, Kenny Britt, Jared Cook, Chris Givens and Tre Mason to be “tasteless, offensive and inflammatory”, and demanded that they be disciplined.

Five of the players emerged for their game against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday with their hands aloft, a gesture used by protesters who claim that Brown was surrendering when he was shot dead by officer Darren Wilson on 9 August. Last week a grand jury decided not to indict Wilson.

“It touched a lot of us, it added fuel to our fire,” Mason, who raised his hands following a fourth-quarter touchdown, told the Associated Press after the Rams’ 52-0 win.

Britt said: “I don’t want the people in the community to feel like we turned a blind eye to it.” Cook added: “I just think there has to be a change.”

Jeff Roorda, the police union’s business manager and a fundraiser for Wilson, said in a statement on Sunday that “it was unthinkable that hometown athletes would so publicly perpetuate a narrative that has been disproven over and over again”.

After months of protests over Brown’s shooting, the grand jury’s long-awaited decision led to a night of rioting and looting. Prosecutors said some witnesses disputed earlier claims that Brown had his hands up after fleeing a struggle at Wilson’s SUV following the officer stopping him for jaywalking.

Calling for the Rams and NFL to apologise publicly, Roorda said in his statement that he understood the players would be defended as merely exercising their right to free speech. However, he added: “Cops have first amendment rights too, and we plan to exercise ours.

“I’d remind the NFL and their players that it is not the violent thugs burning down buildings that buy their advertisers’ products,” he said. “It’s cops and the good people of St Louis and other NFL towns that do.”

Britt reiterated his position in a post on his Instagram account on Sunday. His wrists were shown wrapped in tape with “MIKE BROWN” and “MY KIDS MATTER” written on them. “This game was dedicated to Mike Brown, his family and the community of Ferguson,” he wrote in the caption.

The Rams and their coach, Jeff Fisher, told reporters that they had not been aware of the players’ plans. Roorda said the gesture was particularly offensive to the union because the team had been in contact with the St Louis police department over the past week “asking for assurances that the players and the fans would be kept safe”.

Meanwhile, in the NBA on Sunday, the Sacramento Kings guard Ben McLemore – a St Louis native – played with “RIP Mike Brown” written on one of his shoes during the team’s 97-85 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.