It’s been ten days since the protests began following the murder of George Floyd under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer. Not only have the protests not scaled back, but they are also getting more widespread.
On May 31, already several days into the protests, Raiders owner Mark Davis made a statement, speaking directly to the murder of Floyd, and adding that “something is wrong” and “we have to come up with solutions.”
The next day, he appeared on a “The Press Box” podcast and reiterated some of his statements while expanding upon it.
“You’re speaking in a very uncertain time, because there is no real pro sports going on right now, there are pro sports organizations. So, as an organization, we can do a lot,” said Davis.
People look up to NFL players. The players have a platform and many believe it is their responsibility to do something with it.
Back in 2017, there were league-wide protests, including from the Raiders who happened to be playing in Washington D.C. on Sunday Night Football.
At that time, Davis asked his players not to speak out while in uniform. He said he has since changed his tune on that.
“Back in 2017 when the kneeling for the National Anthem was happening, I initially said I prefer that they wouldn’t speak out when they were in Raider uniform,” said Davis. “And I felt that being a Raider was just that. And if they had something to say and they took off the uniform they could say something. But certain things happened in society and in real life and it made me change my opinion on that. And I felt well, if the players can make a difference, and if they can say something that will bring more discussion around and issue then it was their right to go ahead and do it.”
The players spoke out then and they continue to do so. But what can Davis and the Raiders organization do? Well, he didn’t offer any specifics. Though he did seem to suggest listening is important. And noted that is something that hasn’t really happened, which is a big reason why the protests rage on.
“I’m not sure that there’s any true leaders out there right now speaking for anybody,” Davis continued, “even asking what are these protests about, other than to say we need to get justice, obviously, and those things, and as for that side, the protest side, they’re getting the message across, but who are the leaders, who are speaking for the people? Then at night, I don’t know who is causing the violence at night. I don’t know whether it’s other groups that are in there to incite violence, I don’t know. It’s a whole new day in the virtual world. It’s a virtual world in the streets.”
NFL players are not staying silent. Many are pointing to the backlash and blackballing of Colin Kaepernick for kneeling during the playing of the National Anthem as a rallying cry.
The players got together for a video demanding three things from the NFL.
“We, the National Football League, condemn racism and the systematic oppression of black people.”
“We, the National Football League, admit wrong in silencing our players from peacefully protesting.”
“We, the National Football League, believe black lives matter.”
#StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/sfwF9Uvgaa
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) June 5, 2020
The Chiefs immediately threw their support behind their players with Patrick Mahomes and Tyrann Mathieu taking part in it.
This video was put out a day after the NFL had finally come out and said the words “Black Lives Matter.” Although many aren’t convinced based on the fact that Colin Kaepernick has remained unemployed for three years.
Then like the floodgates opened, the NFL began pushing out all the similar statements made by NFL teams and they responded with a few of them finally saying the same words: “Black Lives Matter”.
Teams like the Cowboys and Patriots had made those proclamations in the morning and then at exactly 1 p.m. Pacific Time – as if it were a scheduled tweet – the Raiders joined the chorus.
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) June 5, 2020
It’s a bit late in the game, but if you look at the history of this organization, it isn’t like them to be late for these kinds of things. Al Davis was always at the forefront of race relations. He followed no one. He made his rules and others followed. Mark said as much in that same interview when asked what his father would have done.
“He’s more of an action kind of a guy and to get things done,” Mark said of Al Davis. “In the long run, that’s what I would like to be. You have to bring things out in the open and speak your mind just to get a conversation going. And I think that’s what my statement had to do with. And I didn’t want to step around the issue, I wanted to step right into it.”
In some regard, Mark did step into the issue. But it was more of a half step than a leap. Maybe he’ll get there at some point. If he truly aspires to have the presence of his father, this moment can be a way to prove it.
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