Tag: Black Lives Matter

Former Lions RB Joique Bell to lead ‘Belle Isle Freedom March’ on Friday

Former Detroit Lions running back Joique Bell helped organize and will lead the “Belle Isle Freedom March” on Friday in Detroit.

Former Detroit Lions running back Joique Bell helped organize and will lead the “Belle Isle Freedom March” on Friday in Detroit, with the goal of working towards strengthening relationships between minority communities and local police.

The march starts at 3:00 pm EST, and participants will begin silently walking from Gabriel Richard Park just before the bridge at 4:00 pm.

“It isn’t just a march just to say we did it,” Bell told Dave Birkett of the Free Press. “It’s to march and then to start a dialogue and to bridge that gap with the civilians who are Detroit citizens and also with the local police and the state police, and ultimately kind of be the staple of this is how you should go about creating a change.”

View this post on Instagram

#belleislefreedommarch

A post shared by (Juggernaut) (@joiquernaut) on

In an effort to gain more awareness for this event, Bell reached out to the Lions and asked them to support him.

“When I called president (Rod) Wood and told him about our initiative and what we’re trying to get accomplished and what we wanted to get done, he was all in, no questions asked,” Bell said. “(Wood asked), ‘What do we need? How can we be a part? We want this to be successful and we want you guys to know that we are standing with you. That spoke volume to his character and the organization.”

The Lions have promoted the march on social media and several members of the organization, including players, plan on attending.

[lawrence-related id=45665,45642,45629]

Broncos OLB Von Miller shares BLM message on Twitter

“We will not be silenced or pacified,” Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller said.

Denver Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller shared the following message on his official Twitter page on Wednesday:

As a Black man in a place of relative privilege, it’s my responsibility to utilize my platform & bring awareness to the unjustified murders & injustices that all Black people have endured in America. Specifically, at the hands of the police — who are supposed to protect & serve, not hunt & destroy.

While I support the nationwide protests because they are necessary & I understand our people’s pain, the value of our lives can’t be relegated to a moment in time. We need actual changes implemented across the board in order to dismantle systemic racism.

Our anger is justified, and we will not be silenced or pacified. If you consider yourself an ally, it’s time to have tough conversations with your fellow man because the responsibility of deconstructing bigotry doesn’t fall on those burdened by it.

Black Lives Matter. Black men’s lives matter. Black women’s lives matter. All lives can’t matter if they don’t.

Be safe, everybody. And if there’s any way I can do more to amplify the cause on my platform, please let me know & I will.

Miller, a team captain, is the Broncos’ most accomplished current player.

[vertical-gallery id=642416]

MSU Athletic Department meets at The Rock in solidarity with Black Lives Matter protests

The entire Michigan State athletic department met at The Rock today to show support for the George Floyd protests.

For over a week now, we have seen protests flare across the nation as the country continues to mourn the death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor while seeking justice and reform. The leadership of the Michigan State Athletic Department has been outspoken in their support for the protests and the Black Lives Matter movement, and today, the entire Athletic Department, from Tom Izzo, to Mel Tucker, to Suzy Merchant, and many more, met at The Rock to show their support for the Black Lives Matter protests around the country.

You can see the photo they took together below:

They did note that while Black Lives Matter and the RIP George Floyd text was removed, the black fist was painted over with white paint…

If you want to read some of the comments MSU staff and athletes have made on the protests, here is a guide:

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

The Big Listen: Racial injustice and golf

Golfweek reached out to a group of thoughtful individuals in the golf industry to further the dialogue about racial injustice in America.

In the wake of George Floyd’s tragic death, Golfweek reached out to a wide-ranging group of thoughtful individuals within the golf industry to further the dialogue about racial injustice in America. You’ll find pain in their voices but also courage and hope.

We hope this will serve as a reality check and a starting point for meaningful conversations and change within the golf industry.

Related words: Eamon Lynch | Harold Varner III | Tiger Woods

JuliaKate E. Culpepper and Julie Williams contributed reporting

Mariah Stackhouse, LPGA player

What’s at the forefront of my mind? The raw answer to that question is just frustration, a heavy heart and just a constant questioning of how many times does this have to happen before something actually changes? That’s the raw feeling.

Mariah Stackhouse (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

But then when I sit in that for a little while and I take a step back and kind of pay attention to the national conversation that’s at play, it’s combined with a bit of, I would say encouragement, because the response is so much more widely felt this time around than I’ve ever seen, and I feel like voices are being heard, and that’s good.

I don’t experience (racism) daily, but I experience it enough. A small example of that could be when I was at a tournament once and I was going into the clubhouse to get to the player locker room and the security guy asked for my ID, and I show it, and he looks closely to see the word “Player” and then verbally exclaims “Player!” And he takes a look at me and says, “Huh,” like that’s a shocking fact.

Those experiences that I’ve had are very real, which continue to show there is more room for growth and diversity. That would just be a concrete example that yes, I do experience racism on a day-to-day, sometimes in the golf world, sometimes in the grocery store. It’s not always direct or violent. It can be subtle.

The affirmation that my parents wrote for me as a kid is huge. Now, as a grown woman, it’s mindboggling to contemplate the amount of foresight they had when they wanted me to memorize it. When I read it now, it was worded in a way that would prepare me for life experiences I would definitely have as a young black woman in America and on the golf course. While the shock of that encounter with the security guard is like woah, it didn’t sour my mood to the point where I can’t go forth and have a good round, have a good day etc., and I’ll never allow it to, because I have that affirmation to remind me of who I am, my value in this world.

An action that I think everybody could rather easily participate in is acknowledging and participating in the conversation that’s going on right now and thinking about the fact that, while the conversation is dealing directly with George Floyd, the deeper part of that is where does it come from; and why have black people had so many of these experiences; and what can I do on a small level to combat racism.

When you recognize how loud this conversation is in America right now, it’s not loud to the black community because we’ve always had this conversation with each other, and we’ve always spoken up. It’s loud because other people are speaking up with us, and that’s incredibly important.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8, Page 9, Page 10, Page 11, Page 12, Page 13, Page 14

Seahawks QB Russell Wilson shares own experience with racism

Speaking out on racial injustice, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson shared his own personal experience with racism as a black man.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback shared some thoughts in a Zoom interview on Wednesday but he wasn’t talking about football. Wilson chose to address the racial inequality that is plaguing the nation.

“When you think about the idea of Black Lives Matter, they do matter,” Wilson said. “The reality is that, me as a black person, people are getting murdered on the street, people are getting shot down, and the understanding that it’s not like that for every other race. It’s like that in particular for the black community. I think about my stepson, I think about my daughter, I think about our new baby boy on the way, and it’s staggering to watch these things happen right in front of our faces, so I have a heavy heart right now.”

Wilson then opened up about his own experience being an African American male, sharing a story about a recent incident that had him reeling.

Wilson recalled a time in California, shortly after the team won the Super Bowl in 2014, that he was confronted by an older white man in line for breakfast. “That’s not for you,” the man told Wilson.

“And I said, ‘Huh? Excuse me?’ I thought he was joking at first,” Wilson explained. “My back was kind of turned. I had just come off a Super Bowl and everything else, so if somebody is talking to me that way, you think about circumstance and how people talk to you. In that moment, I really went back to being young and not putting my hands in my pocket and that experience. That was a heavy moment for me right there. I was like, man, this is really still real, and I’m on the West Coast. This is really real right now.”

Wilson said he chose not to confront the man – “not lash back out in the moment” – but stood up for himself, saying, “Excuse me, sir, but I don’t appreciate you speaking to me that way.”

“Being black is a real thing in America,” Wilson said. “It’s a real thing in the sense of the history and the pain, even my own family, personally.”

Here’s Wilson’s statement he issued on June 1.

You can listen to his entire Zoom interview here.

[lawrence-related id=63874]

Lincoln Riley says he’ll ‘stand’ with his players, ‘proud’ of how they have responded

Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley says he stands with his players and is proud during the last week and half in the country.

It was late Saturday night when the notification would have hit people’s phone.

Countless head coaches and leaders amongst the college athletic community had already made public statements on the current climate of the country. Six days after the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley broke his silence with a tweet.

“My players know who I am and know what I stand for and I’m very confident and secure in that,” Riley said Wednesday on a zoom conference call in response to a question about those questioning how long it took him to make his statement. “They know my beliefs on that. We’ve had opportunities to discuss that as a team several times and it hasn’t always been because of an issue. We always try to keep those lines of communications open and it’s something that we talk about actively in our program that nobody whether you are a coach, whether you are player, whether you are a starter, whether you’re a walk-on, regardless … whether you are black, whether you are white, whether your religion is this or that—none of that matters to us in our facility and on our football and in our program and never has.”

Protests have gone on everyday in all major cities in the United States for almost a week now. Many college athletes have spoken out on the issues the black community has faced and is continuing to face. Some of them have participated in the protest that have taken place.

When asked if Riley would join his players in protest, he didn’t hesitate to let it be known where he stands.

“I definitely stand with my players,” Riley said. “I mean, I think the statement that I put out on Twitter, and it’s not just because they’re my players—it’s the fundamental belief that, like I said, I was very fortunate I was raised in a household that taught me that no one is better than anybody else, not because of the color of their skin. Been lucky enough to be in locker rooms of sport teams all my life, so I’m fortunate to have grown up believing that and been raised in a household where that was emphasized.”

“Honestly if the players ask me to do something, that’s great, but it’s something that I would do regardless if I was a football coach or not,” Riley said. “It’s a true, fundamental belief that I have. No, certainly I stand with my players, I stand with an opportunity to help make this world a better place however big or small that opportunity is and so I don’t think anything would be off the table certainly as far as a protest or as far as a call for equality and for the world to get better, which it needs to right now. So, as long as it’s done tastefully, it’s well thought out, it’s done peacefully, there’s certainly nothing off the table in that realm for me personally.”

Almost all Oklahoma players—white, black, brown—have taken to social media or at protests to express how they feel during this time.

Safety Justin Broiles spoke at a black lives matter rally at the capitol in Oklahoma City. Safety Chanse Sylvie drafted how he would help reform law enforcement in the United States. Many others have participated in events around the country or offered and expressed their feelings on social media.

It’s something that has made Riley proud.

“… I think the biggest messages to our players have been No. 1: for them to know that they are supported here,” he said. “No. 2 is we don’t believe in holding our guys back from having the ability to speak their mind, to be involved in a protest or anything else that they believe in as long as it is done peacefully, it’s done tastefully, it’s well thought-out with good intentions.

“I would say up to this point, I’ve been extremely proud of how our players have responded. I think it’s been mature, I think it’s been very well thought-out. It’s been very unified. Just one of my prouder moments as a coach because you got players from all different players, all different backgrounds from all over the country, guys have been brought up in all kinds of different households—you name it, we’re kind of the melting pot. And to see how our guys have responded up to this point, I’ve been extremely, extremely proud.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Lincoln Riley: ‘All lives can’t matter until the black lives do, too, and on an equal playing field’

The world of social media was flooded on Tuesday with all black pictures for a Blackout Tuesday movement. That included Lincoln Riley.

The world of social media was flooded on Tuesday with all black pictures for a Blackout Tuesday movement.

Everywhere you checked on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook had it. This also includes the head coach at the University of Oklahoma.

OU is located in a primarily republican state and many of the students that go to the University of Oklahoma are from the state and the state of Texas—another primarily republican state.

Lincoln Riley joined in on the social media movement Tuesday, using the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter for his tweet.

The conversation between black lives matter and all lives matter is dependent on which side of the aisle you sit on in our country’s current climate. In Oklahoma and Texas, the difference between the two can be widely felt on social media.

For Riley, it didn’t matter what anyone thought. Here is his full quote on why he chose to use the hashtag during a zoom conference call with media on Wednesday.

“Because it’s a personal belief of mine. You’ve seen it said a lot of places: All lives do matter, but the incidents here of all the different things that have gone on between law enforcement and specifically black males has highlighted that. People have said it very well and maybe better than I can say it: All lives can’t matter until the black lives do, too, and on an equal playing field. That’s something I totally agree with. Like I said, I was raised in a household that none of that matters and none of that should ever determine a person’s opportunities, a person’s ability to feel safe in a community—all of that should be based on how hard you work and how often when you have those choices in life, that you make the right one versus the wrong one. And I think if you are a person that does that and makes the right choices and works your tail off, then you ought to have the same opportunities that anybody else should. I know that’s not a reality for some people. That was my inner belief. Again that’s not something that’s done because I coach a football team that has a lot of young black males on it or has staff that has black males on it—that has nothing to do with it. It’s having been on football teams, been in those locker rooms. I’ve seen how awesome it can be when everybody takes an approach of, ‘we’re all on the same playing field, we’re all equal,’ and how beautiful that is. I think being in those situations for the majority of my life has only made me appreciate more how awesome and how much better life is when we don’t worry about the color of skin or any other factors and we treat people the right way and people have opportunities based on , like I said, the work you do and the decisions you make.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Saints receiver Michael Thomas wants to troll haters like Seth Rogen

See why New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas wants to be like Seth Rogen.

NFL players have been speaking out en masse recently, and rightfully so, regarding the social injustice in society in light of the death of George Floyd last week, which has sparked outrage and protests both here and aboard.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers players took part in #BlackoutTuesday yesterday in a show of solidarity, and even Bucs coach Bruce Arians got involved. Fellow NFC South resident Michael Thomas of the New Orleans Saints has himself been very active on social media lately regarding recent events, and took some time recently to admire the trolling efforts of movie star Seth Rogen.

Rogen went off on haters the other day on Twitter after voicing his support for BLM, using some not-so-clean language to get his point across. While those tweets aren’t appropriate to post here, Thomas did take notice and showed Rogen love on Twitter.

Take a look.

[lawrence-related id=34764]

 

Steph Curry, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damion Lee join ‘Walking In Unity’ event

Golden State Warriors players Steph Curry, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damion Lee were seen at a rally protesting racial injustice.

Three Golden State Warriors players took part in the “Walking in Unity” event at Lake Merritt on Wednesday.

A photo of Steph Curry, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damion Lee was posted to Twitter by Mercury News reporter Wes Goldberg at the demonstration protesting racial injustice.

Protests have taken place in all 50 states and in some other countries over the last week as people express anger at the killing of George Floyd and other African American people at the hands of police officers.

Floyd was killed on May 25 by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was arrested Friday. The other three officers who were standing by as Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes were charged on Wednesday with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting manslaughter, according to ABC.

This protest is the latest way Warriors players have spoken out against police brutality and racial injustice.

Rookie Eric Paschall has been vocal on Twitter throughout the week, and Curry expressed to The Life Podcast about how non-black people need to use their voice, too.

“Until people outside of our community speak up, use their platform and actually get uncomfortable and feel some type of emotional change to the issues, then we’re just going to be in the same situation.”

Head coach Steve Kerr joined a committee on racial injustice and reform established by the National Basketball Coaches Association.

Many players and the Warriors team account itself participated in the “Blackout Tuesday” social media trend.

The Warriors organization also released a statement that in-part read, “We condemn, in no uncertain terms, “racism and violence perpetrated against members of the black community.”

[lawrence-related id=27886,27858,27877]

Lonzo Ball shares new song titled ‘Don’t Shoot Me’ with LiAngelo

Lonzo Ball has continued using his large platform to spread awareness on the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis last week.

Lonzo Ball continued using his large platform to spread awareness on the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis last week. After sharing posts on Instagram, participating in #BlackOutTuesday and attending a peaceful protest in Chino Hills, Ball shared a new song on Wednesday featuring brother LiAngelo titled “Don’t Shoot Me.”

While the song doesn’t feature a verse from Lonzo, it does feature one from LiAngelo. The song, obviously, is a response to not just Floyd’s recent death but the death of innocent black people across the country for decades.

LiAngelo’s line is actually a fairly powerful one with some notable lines.

“Cops picking us off one by one, this (expletive) cruelty
How we supposed to stay calm when they treat us like target practice.”

Lonzo doesn’t have a line in the song but appears to have been involved in the process and certainly has a part in spreading the song to his large platorm.

[lawrence-related id=23570,23562,23555]