ESPN announcer Mark Jones says he will refuse police protection: ‘I’m not signing my own death certificate’

ESPN announcer Mark Jones this week said he plans to refuse police protection at an upcoming game because, “I’m not signing my own death certificate.”

“Saturday at my football game I’ll tell the police officer on duty to ‘protect’ me he can just take the day off,” he tweeted Thursday, amid ongoing protests against police shooting unarmed Black people.

“I’d rather not have the officer shoot me because he feared for his life because of my black skin or other dumb ish,” Jones continued. “I’m not signing my own death certificate.”

Saturday at my football game I’ll tell the police officer on duty to “protect” me he can just take the day off. Fr.

I’d rather not have the officer shoot me because he feared for his life because of my black skin or other dumb ish.

I’m not signing my own death certificate

— MarkJonesESPN (@MarkJonesESPN) September 24, 2020

Jones is working a college football game between Army and No. 16 Cincinnati in Ohio on Saturday, according to USA Today. Football has become a central stage for protests against racial injustice, with many players taking a knee during the anthem as a symbolic gesture.

“Police never saved me. Never helped me. Never protected me. Never taken a bullet for me. (They’ve pulled guns on me),” Jones continued in another tweet.

“Never kept me safe in a protest. Never stopped the racist from taking my Black Lives Matter flag off my house,” he wrote, without providing more details of the incident. “I could do without em.”

Police never saved me.Never helped me.Never protected me.Never taken a bullet for me. (They’ve pulled guns on me)
Never kept me safe in a protest. Never stopped the racist from taking my Black Lives Matter flag off my house.
I could do without em. fr. #BreonnaTaylor. #Defund12

— MarkJonesESPN (@MarkJonesESPN) September 23, 2020

He went on to tag the tweet with #BreonnaTaylor and #Defund12.

A Kentucky grand jury on Wednesday announced no charges in the March killing of Breonna Taylor by police who entered her apartment.

Defund 12 is a movement to reallocate police budgets “towards education, social services, and dismantling racial injustice.”

Jones added #DefundThePolice in another tweet, writing: “My late Uncle Lawrence was the first police officer on the force in Toronto. First ever. He’d told me countless amounts of stories of racist police in his own police force he’s dealt with. Racial epithets he heard in and out of uniform. Brazen nasty ish.”

My late Uncle Lawrence was the first police officer on the force in TorontoFirst ever

He’d told me countless amounts of stories of racist police in his own police force he’s dealt with. Racial epithets he heard in and out of uniform. Brazen nasty ish. #DefundThePolice

— MarkJonesESPN (@MarkJonesESPN) September 23, 2020

Critics of Jones’s tweets, however, resurfaced previous pro-police comments he’s made, including a 2011 tweet where he said, “I love our police escorts to the stadium.”

“Saves us a good 40 min to 1 hour of not waiting in traffic,” he wrote then.

I’m not going to lie. I love our police escorts to the stadium. Saves us a good 40 min to 1 hour of not waiting in traffic.

— MarkJonesESPN (@MarkJonesESPN) October 8, 2011

Jones responded to that resurfaced tweet by adding in a new one, “I always ride in another car with my spotter and statistician who are white. Dear friends of 30 years who’d take a bullet for me.”

I always ride in another car with my spotter and statistician who are white. Dear friends of 30 years who’d take a bullet for me.❤️ https://t.co/xcT8ykWaqK

— MarkJonesESPN (@MarkJonesESPN) September 24, 2020

He responded to another resurfaced tweet where he had thanked police in 2018 by crediting a “young Black dude” rather than police action.

A young Black dude actually found the bag which had popped out of our SUV. He was heading to the game and saw it in the ditch. He recognized my face on my iPad in the bag. He handed it off to Police at the parking lot✊ https://t.co/UGf7tuJXhs

— MarkJonesESPN (@MarkJonesESPN) September 24, 2020