In a surprising turn of events, one of the witnesses in the George Floyd murder trial happens to be a pro-MMA fighter. His name is Donald Williams, and he took to the stand to give his account on what happened on the fatal day.
Going by the nickname as ‘The Deathwish’, Donald Williams trains out of Minnesota and has a pro-record of 6-5 in the cage. His amateur record is substantially more impressive, going 5-0 before taking it up professionally. Not only this but he also has a background in college wrestling.
So, why is this relevant to the George Floyd trial?
In short, it means that he has an understanding of grappling and how things work in terms of the mechanics of the human body. In one video from the police bodycam, you can actually see Williams pleading with Derek Chauvin to release George Floyd from the ground. Williams calmly says ‘bro’ and ‘he can’t breathe’ in an attempt to save the life of Floyd.
The actual move that was used to kill Floyd can be seen in the video below:
As seen, the knee on neck hold is explained as a submission and can easily render the downed man unconscious. Sadly, this was the fate of George Floyd whose carotid arteries would have been blocked by doing this hold, resulting in loss of blood to the brain. In the world of grappling, when the person feels unsafe they tap and the submission is instantly released. However, for Floyd there was no release, which must have been a truly awful feeling.
Returning to Williams, he will re-tell his version of events – and hopefully bring justice in one of the USA’s most infamous court cases ever.
