Los Angeles Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn started off his Q&A with the Los Angeles Times’ LZ Granderson by answering why he didn’t want to simply release a statement about the George Floyd protests.
“I don’t want to just put [a statement] out there because it’s the right thing to do. I want change,” he answered, “so I guess it starts with having this conversation and talking things out. In 1992 I remember watching L.A. burn and here we are in 2020 and I’m watching it again and it just hit me, nothing has changed.”
Then, he added, “I’m so scared. I want to do something but to be honest with you, I don’t know what that is.”
You should read the entire interview, but here are some other moments: when Granderson asked him about the NFL’s much-derided statement and about how Colin Kaepernick was among the words not mentioned in it, Lynn had this to say:
People completely misunderstood Colin and what he was trying to do. People talked about disrespecting the flag . . . the flag covers a lot —patriotism and civil rights and other things. And Colin was speaking out against the injustice and a lot of people didn’t catch on to that because it was happening during the national anthem. They thought it was disrespectful to the flag. I was surprised by the number of people who didn’t know why he was protesting. I got letters from people. I had people walk up to me and ask, “Coach, what are you going to do if someone on your team protests?” And I had to explain to them that Colin is taking a knee for criminal justice [reform] and police brutality and once you broke it down, they were like, “Oh, we didn’t know that. We thought he was protesting the flag.” And that was the case for a lot of people I came across.
And he spoke about joining protesters in Huntington Beach, but wondered how to push forward beyond:
After an hour or so I sought out the leader and we had a conversation and we talked about what was the end game. After the protests, what is this going to lead to? That’s when I got a little disappointed because there was no plan. The protest was there to help people express themselves but there was no endgame, no plan. All of the sacrifice and protest, I wanted to know at the end of this, if something was going to be done. I don’t want to be doing this again 20 years from now, and so I’m looking for ways to sit at the table and have a conversation about this broken system.
The Chargers have done more in the community than just about any organization I’ve been with. I’ve been out in the community, talking with Mayor [Eric] Garcetti and I’ve been to the juvenile detention centers to encourage young men to do something positive with their life when they get out, and City Council people about making L.A. a better place. But this stuff that’s taking place with police brutality and unarmed black men dying and white people feeling like they can use their privilege to threaten black people like that white woman did in Central Park, that’s ridiculous. How do we effect that type of change? Where’s the accountability for that kind of [expletive]? That’s where I’m at right now. I’m angry, I’m pissed off and I don’t want to just put out a pretty statement.
The Chargers responded to the interview by sharing it with one word: “leadership.”
leadership. https://t.co/cVNwbNwQ24
— Los Angeles Chargers (@Chargers) June 2, 2020
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