Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid opened his Wednesday press conference addressing the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Reid’s statement comes just days after a video surfaced showing Blake, a black man, being shot multiple times in the back at point-blank range by police.
“Listen, I’m just going to put in my 10 cents on the Jacob [Blake] situation,” Reid began. “I think you guys know, I’m into team. I’m into peace and people getting along. Right or wrong, we all need to join hands, man, here and make this world a place where we can go into each other’s neighborhoods and be comfortable, and that we appreciate life and how important it is. How hard it is to create life, something that really none of us are capable of doing in a test tube. It’s a precious thing, man. It’s complicated, it is precious.
“We need to, at this time, everybody needs to come together and join hands, like I said, and love each other for what we are, and the privilege that we have in this short period of time that we are on earth, as opposed to walking in fear, to walk with strength and pride and make this country the greatest place ever along with the world. We do that, and we’ll be a great example to the world. But my hear goes out to Jacob and his family and that situation. I don’t know the whole story, but I hate seeing the way things are going right now. We’re better than that, absolutely better than. Like I said, we respect each other and we’re going to be in a great, great place.”
Reid always has a way with words when it comes to uniting his team in a common goal, toward love and acceptance. He spoke on George Floyd and showed his support for the Black Lives Matter movement earlier this offseason. His players appreciate how genuine and candid he is when these issues arise.
Amazing person best dude ever..! https://t.co/VPAzE4rEzm
— King me (@sammywatkins) August 26, 2020
Reid says the team spoke didn’t opt to go the route of the Detroit Lions, who canceled practice in the wake of the shooting.
“One of the great advantages I’ve got here is that I’ve got a great locker room that communicates,” Reid said. “I’m able to talk to the guys and get a feel for the guys. There’s obviously a concern, but not to where we feel like we needed to do that. We were able to go forward on this. We also understand where things need to go and where we all need to work forward on this. Again, I think with that, we’ve got great people in this country and we need to bring that part out in us as opposed to the negative and get ourselves right.”
Reid doesn’t just speak to his team either, he listens to their concerns and takes input on what the team can do to impact change.
“I listen, that’s what I do,” Reid said. “I try to do the same thing with my kids and people that I come in contact with. It’s no different. I mean, you can learn from everybody. There are concerns right now. They’re being addressed. Change is always a little uncomfortable for people. In our business, we have a lot of change and it’s constantly happening. You’ve got to listen, you’ve got to sit and make sure you keep open communication with it. I’m lucky to have a locker room that does that and players that talk about it and guys that listen to each other. If we can just put color aside and enjoy people’s culture, man. We all come from different places, we’re all wired a little different. If we can just bring it together and enjoy each other and what we’re all about, as opposed to the negative, let’s just throw that thing right out the window and get this thing right.”
This occurrence serves as a reminder that there’s still more work to be done in the fight against racial injustice. The action by NFL players prompted in wake of the death of George Floyd was only the beginning. Players will continue to use their platforms to push for social change and justice amid the ongoing wave of police violence against Black men and women in this country.
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