12:56 PM PT -- Philonise issued a statement reinforcing the family's position regarding the Raiders' statement.
"On behalf of our family, I would like to extend our deepest gratitude to the Las Vegas Raiders organization and its leadership for their support of our family and for our nation’s ongoing pursuit of justice and equality for all."
"Now, more than ever, we must come together as one and continue on in this fight. For the first time in almost a year, our family has taken a breath. And I know that goes for so many across the nation and globe, as well."
"Let’s take this breath together in honor of my big brother who couldn’t. Let’s do it for George."
George Floyd's brother, Philonise, has a message for the Las Vegas Raiders -- he's not offended by the team's "I Can Breathe" post and is not demanding they take it down.
We spoke with Philonise moments ago ... and he told us he does not believe the message was intended to be negative and he hasn't had any negative thoughts about it all.
In fact, Philonise kind of agrees with the post -- explaining how the world can finally take a breath now that the man who killed his brother has been convicted and will be held accountable.
As we previously reported, Raiders owner Mark Davis took responsibility for posting "I Can Breathe" on the team's social media accounts on Tuesday, moments after Derek Chauvin was found guilty on 3 counts in the murder of George Floyd.
Davis has said the post was inspired by the comments Philonise made at a news conference following the conviction when he explained, "Today, we are able to breathe again."
David and the Raiders have been getting a TON of pushback online from people who feel the post was insensitive -- considering Floyd told officers "I can't breathe" more than 20 times during the May 2020 encounter with Chauvin.
On Tuesday evening, Davis said he's sorry IF the tweet hurt the Floyd family ... "If I offended the family, then I'm deeply, deeply disappointed."
Clearly, Philonise feels no apology is necessary.
Originally published -- 9:23 AM PT