Tag: protest

Watch: Malcolm Jenkins speaks at Philadelphia protest

New Orleans Saints safety and former Philadelphia Eagles standout Malcolm Jenkins spoke out against police brutality at a peaceful protest.

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New Orleans Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins spent the last six years playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, and the city still has an important place in his heart. Jenkins returned to Philadelphia for a peaceful protest on Saturday following the death of George Floyd, joining several of his former Eagles teammates in the crowd of demonstraters.

Jenkins was also given an opportunity to speak in front of the Philadelphia African American Museum, in which he continued to use his platform to advocate for police reform and condemn racial inequality:

“To the powers that be, I hope that we have your attention,” Jenkins said in a video captured at the event by FOX 29’s Alex Holley. “On this very day two years ago, I stood in front of my locker, facing a crowd of reporters. And as I peacefully protested, I held a sign that said ‘You aren’t listening.’ And at that time, the country had been willfully ignoring the cries of black communities as it has done for decades and centuries.”

Jenkins is a leading member of the NFL Players Coalition, a group including his new Saints teammate Demario Davis and retired tight end Benjamin Watson. He’s worked to raise awareness of issues in his community before, and played a big role in changing Drew Brees’ perspective on peaceful protests during the quarterback’s uncomfortable time in the spotlight last week.

With strength of character like Jenkins’ in the locker room, the Saints won’t be lacking for leadership once the 2020 season. Hopefully he’ll continue to thrive on and off the field for New Orleans as he’s done for the Eagles.

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Roger Goodell says NFL was wrong for mishandling peaceful protests

“We are listening, I am listening, and I will be reaching out to players who have raised their voices,” Goodell said.

Following the death of George Floyd and protests across the United States, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell released a video declaring that the NFL was wrong for how it handled player protests in the past.

“We, the NFL, condemn racism and the systematic oppression of Black People,” the league tweeted on Friday. “We, the NFL, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest. We, the NFL, believe Black Lives Matter.”

Here’s the full statement from Goodell:

Goodell did not mention Colin Kaepernick, who started the protests four years ago, by name. There will likely be many more protests this season.

“We are listening, I am listening, and I will be reaching out to players who have raised their voices and others on how we can improve for a better and more united NFL family,” Goodell said.

Broncos players attended a BLM march in Denver on Saturday.

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Adrian Peterson says he will ‘without a doubt’ kneel during National Anthem in 2020

With much of the world protesting racial injustice and police brutality, Peterson says he will ‘without a doubt’ kneel for national anthem.

This past week has been a crazy one in the NFL, where football players of all backgrounds have taken to social media to denounce police brutality, with many showing up to respective protests in their area to march for Black Lives Matter.

The real drama unfolded earlier in the week when New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees announced that he was against the peaceful protests that many NFL players had taken in the past, and were planning to take again when they declared that they would be kneeling during the national anthem. Brees said, “I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America.”

For Washington Redskins running back Adrian Peterson, this was a shock to hear, and something that he couldn’t stand behind.

“Once I saw the question that was asked, it was like he diverted and went straight to what he wasn’t going to participate in and what he stood for,” Peterson said, via the Houston Chronicle. “I know Drew Brees. He’s not a racist at all, and I have a lot of love for him, but I think this was a situation where he should have thought things out more and tried to look at things in a different view. He made a comment about what he thinks about his grandfather and his great-grandfather going to war.”

After Brees experienced a significant backlash in the hours after his comments went public, he later apologized for the statement and vowed to better educate himself going forward. He later disagreed with President Trump of Twitter after Trump said that Brees was one of his favorite players and that he supported his cause.

Going into the 2020 season, Peterson made it be known that he has little doubt about how players will act before games when the national anthem sounds. There will be kneeling, and they will band together as one, hoping that their message will finally be heard.

“Just four years ago, you’re seeing Kaepernick taking a knee, and now we’re all getting ready to take a knee together going into this season, without a doubt,”

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LOOK: Alabama MBB HC Nate Oats, AD Greg Byrne attend Tuscaloosa protest

Alabama’s men’s basketball head coach, Nate Oats, and Athletic Director Greg Byrne made an appearance at today’s protest in Tuscaloosa.

Athletes from all different sports and levels, professional and collegiate, have joined protests, which have erupted across the country to stand up against police brutality and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement after the death of George Floyd, who died on May 25 in Minneapolis.

The University of Alabama’s athletic director, Greg Byrne, released a statement, along with football head coach Nick Saban and men’s basketball head coach Nate Oats also making public statements.

Both Byrne and Oats were seen today at Government Plaza in Tuscaloosa, Ala. standing beside protestors to show their support.

The Crimson White’s photo editor, Hannah Saad, was present at the protest and captured a picture of the two.

Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox and other leaders were also in attendance.

With plenty of reasons for the nation to be upset, it’s great to see people who hold a great amount of influence in the Tuscaloosa community come out to show support and stand side-by-side with students, Tuscaloosa denizens and community leaders.

 

Dwayne Haskins joins Black Lives Matter protest in Washington D.C.

Haskins traveled to D.C. with Doug Williams this weekend to join the protest and talk with Mayor Bowser about the BLM movement.

Washington Redskins quarterback Dwayne Haskins is at the Black Lives Matter protests in Washington D.C. on Sunday, protesting against police brutality and racial injustice in America that has been prevalent over the past decades.

It was reported on Saturday that both Haskins and Doug Williams, the Redskins SVP of Player Development, would be traveling to D.C. to join the protest and meet with Mayor Muriel Bowser to discuss the BLM movement.

These pictures from Bleacher Report show that Haskins was out in the mix with thousands of other protesters, working to make their voices heard for what they think is right.

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Report: Dwayne Haskins, Doug Williams to meet with D.C. Mayor Bowser about BLM protest

Both Haskins and Williams will reportedly travel to D.C. this weekend to meet with Mayor Bowser and discuss the BLM protests.

According to The Athletic‘s Rhiannon Walker, Washington Redskins quarterback Dwayne Haskins, and SVP of Player Development Doug Williams, will head to Washington D.C. this weekend to speak with Mayor Muriel Bowser, who attended the protests for Black Lives Matter on Saturday.

Haskins has been very vocal on social media about the need for police reform, and the protests against police brutality that sparked after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis a couple of weeks ago. As for Williams, he is famously known as the first African-American quarterback to win a Super Bowl in the NFL, which he did with the Redskins in 1987.

Mayor Bowser has been active regarding protests in Washington D.C., though she has faced some criticism online for making hollow acts, such as painting ‘Black Lives Matter’ on the street in front of the White House, but making no movement towards defunding the police department. It is unclear what will be discussed with Haskins and Williams come to chat, but you can reasonably guess that this will be part of the conversation.

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Vic Fangio calls Justin Simmons a great person and great leader

“Justin is a great person, a great leader and has his head screwed on correctly,” Fangio said.

After safety Justin Simmons spoke at a protest in Florida earlier this week, Broncos coach Vic Fangio praised the defensive back during a Zoom conference call with media members on Tuesday.

“I thought it was great,” Fangio said. “Justin is a great person, a great leader and has his head screwed on correctly. He sees the problems and how they need to be solved, he’s doing it peacefully and he’s searching for solutions.

“It’s easy for everybody to identify the problems — we all know the problems — but we need to search for solutions. I think that Justin is one of those guys that will help us find solutions and lead us out of this mess that we’re in.”

Denver safety Kareem Jackson echoed Fangio’s words.

“I think that was great for ‘J’ to do that, to go out and protest in a peaceful way,” Jackson said. “It’s just a testament to the type of guy he is. He’s very involved in the Denver community, so I wouldn’t expect that from anyone but ‘J.’

“For him to go out and do that . . . obviously, it’s a sad time right now and what we’re going through but at the end of the day, I think those things have to be done. We have to go out and do the things we can do to be heard and try to do it in a peaceful way.”

Jackson is considering organizing a march with teammates to protest police brutality and social injustices.

Broncos safety Justin Simmons encourages protesting in a peaceful manner

“The important part about that was making sure that we did that in a manner that was peaceful,” Broncos safety Justin Simmons said.

Broncos safety Justin Simmons spoke at a protest in Florida last week following the death of George Floyd.

During an interview with Evan Cohen on ESPN West Palm earlier this week, Simmons talked about participating in the protest.

“Obviously standing for all the racial injustices and racial oppression that has been going on around our country for way too long,” Simmons said.

“We were just going out there, showing our support, and showing how important it is to us. The important part about that was making sure that we did that in a manner that was peaceful and trying to get our voices across.”

Simmons also said that he expects to see more player protests during the national anthem this season. Simmons explained that players have a responsibility to use their platform to help things get better.

“I know that we have too big of a platform to be quiet,” Simmons said.

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Kareem Jackson considering a march to protest social injustice

Broncos safety Kareem Jackson is considering organizing a march to protest police brutality.

Following the death of George Floyd, Broncos safety Kareem Jackson is considering organizing a march with Denver teammates.

“It’s kind of hard now because we’ve got guys all over the place,” Jackson said. “Maybe it’s something with just the guys in Denver or we kind of extend the invite to whatever guys can make in back time and also it’s still kind of hard with COVID going on. I think it may be a thing where we need to get out and we need to maybe put together our own march, like I said, so that these kids and everybody in these communities can actually see us and see we’re there to help them.

“We’re there and we’re all on the same page with them. A lot of times, it can kind of feel like we’re not connected to what’s going on in the real world. I know a lot of people may think that, but at the same time we’re affected as well. I think it may be a thing where we need to get out and maybe try to put together a march here in the next couple weeks just to let everybody know we’re impacted by this as well and we’re there to support whomever we need to support. We definitely want to be there every step of the way with them.”

Broncos players are not expected to report back to the team’s facility until training camp so if Jackson wants to have most of his teammates join him for the march, he might have to wait until late July.

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Drew Brees issues apology after public backlash from current, former teammates

Drew Brees apologized to his New Orleans Saints teammates, fans, and community after a controversial Yahoo interview on NFL anthem protests.

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Drew Brees drew fiery reactions for his comments on potential peaceful protests during the national anthem before NFL games, largely from his own teammates. Appearing in an interview with Yahoo’s Daniel Roberts, Brees reiterated the same stance he shared back in 2017 on protests against police brutality, interpreting those actions as disrespecting the American flag and military.

It got ugly after that. Enough so that Marques Colston, the “Quiet Storm” himself, shared two pages of thoughts from his official Twitter account. Malcolm Jenkins posted several videos on Instagram criticizing Brees for being obtuse and missing the point. Former teammates like Lance Moore expressed their disappointment, while Michael Thomas, Alvin Kamara, and Cameron Jordan also went after Brees. The team’s most important leader divided the locker room.

It quickly spread beyond the Saints’ corner of Twitter. LeBron James ripped Brees, too, posting a series of statements emphasizing that, “Wrong is wrong!” Wendell Pierce spoke at length about his father’s experience as a veteran who fought systemic racism in New Orleans after World War II.

Some of Brees’ upcoming opponents rallied against him, with Green Bay Packers linebacker Za’Darius Smith circling his Week 3 game against Brees and the Saints on his calendar.

So Brees moved quickly on Thursday to clarify where he stands on these issues. He put out a lengthy statement on Instagram (which we’ve embedded below; you can also find it at this link) apologizing for the hurt he caused and the division that he caused. It’s a start, but meaningful actions will do more to mend fences. At least it impressed Demario Davis, who reacted in real time while giving an interview to CNN. See it for yourself:

View this post on Instagram

I would like to apologize to my friends, teammates, the City of New Orleans, the black community, NFL community and anyone I hurt with my comments yesterday. In speaking with some of you, it breaks my heart to know the pain I have caused. In an attempt to talk about respect, unity, and solidarity centered around the American flag and the national anthem, I made comments that were insensitive and completely missed the mark on the issues we are facing right now as a country. They lacked awareness and any type of compassion or empathy. Instead, those words have become divisive and hurtful and have misled people into believing that somehow I am an enemy. This could not be further from the truth, and is not an accurate reflection of my heart or my character. This is where I stand: I stand with the black community in the fight against systemic racial injustice and police brutality and support the creation of real policy change that will make a difference. I condemn the years of oppression that have taken place throughout our black communities and still exists today. I acknowledge that we as Americans, including myself, have not done enough to fight for that equality or to truly understand the struggles and plight of the black community. I recognize that I am part of the solution and can be a leader for the black community in this movement. I will never know what it’s like to be a black man or raise black children in America but I will work every day to put myself in those shoes and fight for what is right. I have ALWAYS been an ally, never an enemy. I am sick about the way my comments were perceived yesterday, but I take full responsibility and accountability. I recognize that I should do less talking and more listening…and when the black community is talking about their pain, we all need to listen. For that, I am very sorry and I ask your forgiveness.

A post shared by Drew Brees (@drewbrees) on

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