The New England Patriots are among many professional sports teams that are taking a stand for social justice.
Devin and Jason McCourty have been extremely vocal on the topic, along with many other players. Jacob Blake’s death sparked even more internal conversation between the team, and Bill Belichick briefly spoke about it on Friday during a press conference. He explained how proud he is of the team and said the group will continue to be a pillar in the community.
“I’ll keep the things that happened within the team, private within the team,” Belichick said. “That’s kind of the forum that we had, so I’ll maintain the integrity of that. But I’ve certainly learned a lot, continue to learn a lot. We have an incredible group of players. I’m so proud of this team and the players we have on it — the way that they’re involved in each other’s lives as teammates, the way that they raise their families and are involved in the community on a number of different levels.
“We’ve always prided ourselves in doing things right and not only being a good football team, but being a pillar in the community. That continues to be our goal and our expectation, and I’m so proud of what our players do on all those levels.”
Jason addressed Blake’s murder in more detail on Thursday.
“I feel like right now, myself, and I know a lot of other guys I’ve talked to in the locker room right now, we’re just lost, man,” McCourty said. “It’s almost like a sense of hopelessness.”
“For Jacob Blake’s three children, who sat in the car and watched their father get shot seven times, where do you go to escape that feeling? Where do you go to erase that sight? Where do you go to deal with that type of trauma?”
The Patriots will continue to learn and Belichick’s involvement will be additional help on keeping these issues relevant in the locker room.
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