With all the recent lives that have been lost due to police brutality, Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Marrone knew his team had to rally and become part of a potential solution. That said, they huddled (virtually) and concluded that marching together through the city would be a great start.
Friday, the team met at TIAA Bank Field and marched to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office just down the road. The idea was one originally brought up by running backs coach Terry Robiskie, who has long been a friend of Marrone and marched for the same issues in the late 1960s.
When the team arrived at the sheriff’s precinct, Robiskie shared a powerful message about sticking together. He also discussed how the Jags’ support for his suggestion was unlike any he’s seen since becoming a coach.
“I have never felt this type of support from an organization during my 43 years in the NFL… all we have is each other. Let’s stick together and let’s stand together. F the rest of it.”
– @Jaguars running backs coach Terry Robiskie at the steps of our local police headquarters pic.twitter.com/rSZ0CvNfXv
— Tad Dickman (@TDickman89) June 5, 2020
After returning to their facility, Marrone made a statement to conclude the march, declaring that people in a position like him can make a huge impact by stepping back and listening to their black comrades and the black community. He also discussed what he believes will be the key to fighting racism — and that’s attacking it with an athlete’s mentality towards winning.
“When you are talking about sustaining [the approach against racism], you are talking through having adversity in the season, you are sore, you are hurt, there is job security [stress], all of that stuff – as far as your performance,” Marrone said. “That distracts from something that we all have to believe, which I do believe is much more powerful than the sport and try to use.”
“I think of the players that we have and the meetings that we have and how competitive our sport is. Our competitiveness is always to win. I’m talking about anyone that has played, whether you’re black or whether you’re white. I think that we need to channel that type of competitiveness and win this movement. If we attack this movement like we attack and compete as athletes, I think we have a hell of a chance.”
As we previously mentioned when Shad Khan made his statements about racism, fans feel his actions will ultimately speak for him heading forward. If the organization attacks the issue consistently as Marrone said, it would be a huge step in the nation’s battle for equality and speak volumes for Khan.