Former Jets quarterback Josh McCowan wants to see a change in the United States.
McCown, who played for New York from 2017-18 and spent last season with the Eagles, has established himself as one of the more respected players in the NFL throughout his lengthy career. He continued to prove why on Monday, as he participated in an NFL Network forum on race relations in America alongside Bills cornerback Josh Norman and NFL Network’s Michael Robinson, who is also a former NFL fullback.
McCown and Norman are members of the Players Coalition, an organization seeking to end social injustices and racial inequality, so it comes as no surprise that both players took part in the forum in an effort to take a stand. As the only white person participating in the forum, McCown reiterated that black and white people have different experiences living in the United States — especially when dealing with law enforcement. He believes that this is something all white people must now understand in the wake of George Floyd’s killing at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derrick Chauvin.
“If our experiences are different, we have to talk about that,” McCown said. “And that’s not for the African-American to talk to a white person about it. It’s [for] white people to talk to white people about that. It’s the conversations inside our own walls that we must change. And it’s a language inside our own walls that we must change.
“It’s on us as white people to step up, have a conversation with one another that would start to change — and break the generation of cycles of racism that we see throughout our country.”
Currently a free agent, McCown has spoken on the social and racial injustice issues plaguing America before. He knows that it is going to take more than words for real change to take place, though. With more people across the country finally coming to grips with what black people and minorities deal with on a daily basis, McCown is hoping major changes are in store sooner rather than later.
“I’m thankful that other people, in the middle of this global pandemic, we’re finally realizing what the real pandemic is — and we’re finally seeing it,” McCown said. “I’m so heartbroken for George Floyd and his family.
“So my prayer is that there would be courage to rise out of this and good to come from this — and that we would continue to move this thing forward and gain ground in this area. Because this is a true thing that’s going to kill us. It’s not COVID-19. It’s this. This is what we have to fight against.”