Tag: fighting racism

Chris Conley believes NFL QBs hold keys to progress on battle against racism, social injustice

WR Chris Conley has been extreme active in the fight against racism but admits it’s going to take bigger voices in the NFL to make progress.

With many members of the professional sports realm protesting in wake of the shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old African American, by Kenosha Police officer Rusten Sheskey, Thursday wasn’t a normal day at the Jacksonville Jaguars’ facility. Still, after a delay of a few hours and a close 37-36 vote between the roster, the team practiced.

After taking the field, one of the team’s most vocal players and leaders, Chris Conley, spoke with the media about what was a mentally difficult day.

“Man what a day,” said Conley to open his virtual presser. “Today, the building and the locker room was somewhat of a microcosm of what’s been going on in this country for weeks and months. But the outcome could be taken in multiple ways. You could take it in a way to say, ‘Oh they weren’t united, they were split.’”

With the team talking things out before taking the field, saying the team wasn’t united definitely wouldn’t be fair, though some thought Thursday should continue without practicing. Still, one thing they all agreed upon was to keep tackling America’s issues with racism, inequality, systematic injustice, and police brutality. That much was made clear after the team marched for the Black Lives Matter movement in May and in the statements/presser by Doug Marrone.

During his time with the media, Conley was also asked about whether he believed the NFL would take a similar approach like the NBA and boycott games at some point. His reply was a blunt and genuine one, stating that the NFL is too massive for such an approach as owners are always looking for a replacement. For that reason, he believes the most powerful players in the league — the franchise quarterbacks — are the ones who would have to sacrifice time on the field to really make progress on America’s issues.

“The difference between the NFL and other major league sports machines throughout the country is that they’re looking for your replacement here at all times and they will replace you and the show will go on without you. And until the people in the NFL who are irreplaceable decide that they’re going to step back and they’re going to hang it up for a week, two weeks, whatever it may be, I don’t foresee that happening,” Conley said.

“I think you have great leaders in this league, you have guys who have a voice and who want to be heard and who are willing to make that sacrifice. I believe I’m one of them. But until those figures who are the face of the league decide that and people rally behind them, I don’t think you see that, I don’t think you see that from us.”

Afterward, Conley also added that he completely understands that such a sacrifice from the marquee quarterbacks in the league like Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, and Deshaun Watson is a lot to ask for. With the NBA being a smaller group, however, players like LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony can band their league together and have a great degree of star power to go with it. Additionally, there are other factors that play into it like the fact that activism is embedded in the NBA’s history and it probably helps that the sport has a higher representation of those who identify themselves as black (74%) or a person of color (83%).

“A hell of a lot of courage,” Conley replied when ask what it would take for notable quarterbacks to step up. “The problem with the league is the NFL is a very large league. You have a lot of guys on a lot of different teams, a lot of different backgrounds, not everyone knows everyone, even people who are of that significant status—not all of them know each other.”

“It’s a little bit different in the NBA. A lot of those guys do know each other and if they don’t know each other directly, they know someone who knows someone that they’ve played with. These conversations would be good conversations to be had by a lot of those guys. But at the same time, you want people who will be most affected by these decisions and the conversation, too.”

Regardless of how difficult it may be, however, it’s clear the Jags and other NFL teams have plans to remain active in the battle of racism. Players like Conley and Leonard Fournette have have success garnering the attention of city officials and conducting protests as we saw after George Floyd’s murdering. That won’t be changing any time soon and when/if the league’s marquee quarterbacks figure out a way to impact the fight on a larger scale, it will only add to what players like Conley and Fournette have already done.

Jags practice Thursday after delay, met beforehand to discuss ‘actionable change’ against racism

The Jags got off to a delay for Thursday’s practice, but ultimately decided to continue with plans for ‘actionable change’ against racism.

With many teams deciding to boycott on Thursday in wake of the police shooting of James Blake, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Thursday practice session was delayed. However, after meeting for hours the team decided to proceed with practice after the following statement was made by coach Doug Marrone.

Last night, the Milwaukee Bucks made a statement by boycotting their playoff game against the Orlando Magic to shed light on police brutality and other racially sensitive issues.

The team then released the following statement:

“Over the last few days in our home state of Wisconsin, we’ve seen the horrendous video of Jacob Blake being shot seven times in the back by a police officer in Kenosha, and the additional shooting of protestors. Despite the overwhelming plea for change, there has been no action, so our focus today cannot be on basketball.”

The Bucks were the catalyst for the wider sports world to pause and stand in solidarity against systemic racism in the United States. Since their announcement Wednesday night, other NBA and WNBA games were boycotted. Additionally, the MLB, other NFL organizations, players from the professional Tennis realm, and others in the sports community have stated they will cancel or postpone some of their activities to use their platform to continue important discourse about racial injustices.

The Jaguars practice field was empty this morning, leading many to speculate that Jacksonville would join the likes of the Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets and the Washington Football Team in cancelling today’s football activities. However, the team ultimately came to the decision to practice.

In the near future, the team will undoubtedly continue to express their solidarity with the sports community, which has dedicated a lot of effort towards civil rights for African Americans and other minorities. In fact, back in May they held a march following the tragedy of George Floyd’s murder at the hands of an Indianapolis policeman named Derek Chauvin and three other officers. Owner Shad Khan also released an essay addressing racism and stated that he’d continue to hold meetings with the Jags about approaches for change.

Podcast: Jags march for Black Lives matter, Dave Caldwell’s top-5 worst picks

In episode 19 of the “Bleav in the Jags” podcast, Phil and James compiled a list of Caldwell’s worst draft picks and the latest in team news.

After a week off, Jags Wire contributor Phil Smith and I got back in the booth to record another episode of the “Bleav in the Jags” podcast. To follow up our last episode where we looked at Dave Caldwell’s best draft picks, we wrapped up our two-part series by previewing his five worst in episode 19.

However, before getting into our main topic, Phil and I discussed the monumental march that took place off the field as the Jags protested for the Black Lives Matters movement Friday. We also discussed Shad Khan’s essay against racism and what we’d like to see from him going forward to help against the battle inequality.

All of that and more was tackled in our latest podcast!

Feel free to listen to the archived episodes of “Bleav in the Jags,” too, and subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or Spotify.

[protected-iframe id=”2425ffe4508e435faf49cd13279b1451-105974738-159322853″ info=”https://art19.com/shows/bleav-in-the-jacksonville-jaguars/episodes/2ee33f59-4cfd-48f8-8f44-fd4d09a24f39/embed” scrolling=”no”]

Leonard Fournette on fight for equality: “This is bigger than me, this is bigger than football”

Leonard Fournette shared a powerful message with city of Jacksonville about equality as the nation seeks justice for George Floyd.

Last Friday marked a monumental off-the-field moment in history for the Jaguars and the city of Jacksonville as both came together to march for one huge cause: raising awareness for racial injustice. The organization garnered a group of over 300 to march to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and share powerful messages condemning racism and preaching camaraderie.

Unfortunately, star running back Leonard Fournette wasn’t able to attend as he was training from his home state of Louisiana, so the young running back decided to put together another protest for Tuesday with anyone welcomed to join. Fournette’s own protest successfully provided another great moment for the city, this time bringing together residents, the law enforcers of Jacksonville, and mayor Lenny Curry.

“This [battle for equality] is bigger than me, this is bigger than football,” Fournette said to those who gathered at the Jacksonville City Hall. “We’re going to continue coming together praying, coming together and doing what we have to do for our kids, the next generation.

“Black Lives Matter. Let’s keep fighting, y’all.”

Fournette’s protest is one of many that have occurred since George Floyd’s death, a case which sparked large-scale demonstrations against racial injustice and police brutality across the entire world leading up to the arrest of four former Minneapolis officers involved in Floyd’s arrest: Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, J.A. Kueng, and Tou Thao. Chauvin was filmed with his knee on Floyd’s neck for over eight minutes who repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe. Not long after, Floyd was pronounced dead.

Since the death of Floyd, systemic racism in America and issues with police brutality have been brought into renewed focus, with politicians, athletes and celebrities alike condemning racism and calling for change. Protests like the one Fournette held Tuesday and others that have taken place across the country over the past two weeks have garnered the nation’s attention. In fact, prior to Fournette’s protest, the city had a Confederate monument moved from Hemming Park after it was mentioned by receiver Chris Conley during the Jags’ march on Friday. Jacksonville residents had also been calling for action to have it and others around the city removed.

“This is one action,” Curry said to those who protested. “There is more work to come. Yesterday, there was a confederate monument in the park. It’s gone. And the others in the city will be removed as well.

“We hear your voices. We have heard your voice.”

With the help of an NFL franchise to provide a platform for players like Fournette to speak out against racism and the voices of local activists, Jacksonville has worked to take some of the necessary steps towards change. But, as players and residents alike have said, there is still a lot of work left to be done. If this week is any indication, players on the Jags’ roster like Fournette understand that, which means the fight will undoubtedly continue.

Leonard Fournette links up with Jacksonville mayor Lenny Curry, police during protest

It was another monumental day for the Jags off the field after Leonard Fournette organized another peaceful protest for Downtown Jax.

Tuesday marked another monumental day for the Jacksonville Jaguars off the field as running back Leonard Fournette organized a protest with teammates and key figures in the city, including mayor Lenny Curry and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Fournette informed the public of the process last week and eventually set the time for 10 a.m. ET, and like the protest his comrades had last Friday, things went fluidly.

Fournette’s protest comes as many athletes have stepped up to speak for the black community (and minorities in general) after the death of George Floyd, who was a victim of police brutality. In the process of being detained, Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin was seen in a disturbing video kneeling on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes. Despite Floyd declaring that he couldn’t breathe several times, Chauvin continued to kneel on his neck and it resulted in his tragic death.

Chauvin and officers Thomas Lane, J.A. Kueng, and Tou Thao, who were also on the scene for the detainment, were all charged. Chauvin received second-degree murder (was initially third-degree) and manslaughter charges, while his accomplices received aiding and abetting charges on the counts that Chauvin received.

As previously mentioned, Fournette’s protest marked the second by a Jag representative. Friday, the organization gathered a group of about 300 that included players (present and former), coaches, front office personnel, and more for a march from TIAA Bank Field to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office down the road.

When they arrived at the police precinct, former Jags player-turned-police officer Ernest Wilford, running backs coach Terry Robiskie, and Chris Conley all shared powerful messages about racism and coming together. Conley’s message especially seemed to garner the attention of local officials as a nearby Confederate monument was removed before Fournette’s protest after Conley made mention of it Friday.

The teammates who joined Fournette on Tuesday included linebacker Myles Jack, running back Ryquell Armstead, safety Ronnie Harrison, and receivers Keelan Cole and Conley, to name a few. It was one of many showings by NFL athletes which involved the players personally protesting with the public.

[lawrence-related id=34381]

[lawrence-related id=34325]

[lawrence-related id=34318]

 

Doug Marrone encourages community to translate competitive energy into combating racism

Doug Marrone and his team got together Friday for a march, which symbolized a step towards fighting racism in America.

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.

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.