Tag: racial injustice

Jets, Bills remain in locker room during anthems

The Jets and the Bills decided to remain in their locker rooms during the playing of the anthems prior to kickoff on Sunday.

The Jets and the Bills decided to remain in their respective locker rooms during the playing of the anthems on Sunday.

As the playing of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” began prior to kickoff, both teams retreated to their locker rooms. They remained there for the playing of the national anthem and returned to the field upon its completion. According to the CBS broadcast, Le’Veon Bell said the Jets had a team vote and wanted to do something that displayed unity, hence their decision to not be on the field for the anthems.

The two teams deciding to stay in their locker rooms comes in the wake of the Chiefs and Texans joining forces at midfield prior to the beginning of the 2020 season to show unity. Players on both the Jets and Bills have been vocal about social and racial injustices in America following the shooting of Jacob Blake and the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and numerous others in the Black community.

Following the Blake shooting, the Jets postponed practice and spent over four hours discussing the incident and social and racial injustices throughout the United States. Joe Douglas, Adam Gase and Christopher Johnson all participated in the conversations and have voiced support for their players.

“It’s just definitely something that I don’t want — and a lot of my brothers in the locker room — swept under the rug,” safety Bradley McDougald said after Blake’s shooting. “This is not just a one-day topic or when it happens, we need to talk about it. This is something real in our community that we’re dealing with. And I’m going to deal with it for the rest of my life and my kids are going to deal with it. When we put street clothes on, when we walk out these doors, it’s real.”

Kenny Stills: Jets’ Adams Gase reached out to apologize and discuss activism

Adam Gase caught up with Kenny Stills to discuss his social activism and express his regret for not understanding in the past.

Jets head coach Adam Gase is all-in on supporting his players and how they choose to protest social and racial injustices across America. It wasn’t too long ago that he did not grasp the magnitude of the situation, though.

When he was with the Dolphins, Gase coached Kenny Stills, who has emerged as one of the most vocal players in the NFL regarding social and racial injustices. Stills was one of the first players to join Colin Kaepernick in kneeling during the national anthem and, on July 14, was arrested as part of the Louisville 87, a group of 87 men and women who were arrested for peacefully protesting the lack of action following the killing of Breonna Taylor.

Stills’ activism caught the eye of Gase, who called his former player to not only discuss the receiver’s efforts to bring about change, but to also express his regret for not doing more to support Still when the two were together in Miami.

“I was really, really, like, impacted by Gase,” Stills, now with te Texans, told ESPN’s Cameron Wolfe. “He reached out to me and was just like, ‘Hey I apologize for never having a conversation with you around this topic. I totally didn’t understand, I didn’t get it, and it’s something I regret.’ Him doing that out of the blue really showed who he is as a man and our relationship and the character he has and how he’s grown.”

Gase has stated that he will back any players who decide to kneel during the national anthem this upcoming season. He was also a major part of New York’s conversation about social and racial injustices when the Jets canceled practice last week.

Gang Green’s second-year head coach has yet to commit to kneeling with players in 2020 if they decide to do so, but it sounds like he now has a firmer grasp on the pulse of his team regarding their thoughts on social and racial injustices throughout the United States. After the killings of Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and numerous others in the Black community, Gase has learned from those who have been impacted the most.

“He’s able to sit down and reflect and really think about his actions and his decisions,” Stills said. “I think just as a man, regardless of the NFL or being a head coach or whatever, that’s something I admire and appreciate and love about him.”

WATCH: Kirk Herbstreit gets emotional talking about social injustice on College GameDay

ESPN College GameDay analyst and former Ohio State QB Kirk Herbstreit got emotional talking about social injustice in a moving monologue.

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We got to see a different side of Kirk Herbstreit this weekend that we don’t often see. The former Ohio State quarterback and long-time analyst on ESPN’s College GameDay program started to talk about what college players can do to help lead to change when it comes to social injustice when things got emotional.

“How do you listen to these stories and not feel pain,” said Herbstreit, as he started to choke up. “And not.. not want to help..”

Herbstreit continued to speak on the different injustices felt by the African-American community while visibly emotional in what was a very moving, raw commentary on social justice that we don’t often see on a channel like ESPN.

I would recommend that everyone watch this powerful video today:

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Ben Burr-Kirven will pay tribute to Breonna Taylor with helmet decal

Seattle Seahawks linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven will honor Breonna Taylor with his helmet decal that the players are adopting for 2020.

The Seattle Seahawks will honor victims of racial injustice by American police by wearing decals on their helmets for the 2020 season. Several players are each honoring a different Black American who has been subject to racial injustice. Linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven told Seahawks.com that he will pay tribute to Breonna Taylor, one of the more prominent victims in the news.

“When somebody gets shot asleep in their house on a no-knock warrant, something has to change,” Burr-Kirven said. “The way the news cycle works, it’s easy for things to fall out of the news and for people to forget. And you can’t forget what happened, you have to make something change, so the best way to keep this in the news and keep people paying attention is to put in a place where millions of people are going to see it every weekend when we play.”

The Seahawks will play the Falcons in Atlanta on September 13 at 10:00 a.m. PT if all proceeds as planned.

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Jets release video addressing social and racial injustice: ‘Enough is enough’

The Jets released a video addressing recent social and racial injustices in American on Saturday night.

The Jets have had enough of the recent social and racial injustices that have taken place across America.

On Saturday night, New York released a video touching on social and racial issues in the United States. The video features numerous Jets players, as well as head coach Adam Gase, general manager Joe Douglas and CEO and acting owner Christopher Johnson. It ends with players and members of the organization on the practice field saying “enough is enough” in unison.

“In lieu of practicing on Thursday, the Jets players and organization took the day to discuss ways we could affect change in our community,” members of the organization state in the video. “We are using this moment to focus on social injustices that are devastating families and people across the country. It is important we use this time to understand, educate and effectuate change.”

The Jets canceled practice on Thursday and spent over four hours discussing the Jacob Blake shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin and what they can do to address social and racial issues, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini. Joe Douglas, Adam Gase and Christopher Johnson were involved in the conversations, which lasted well through the morning.

Cimini added that conversations got emotional at times, but remained centered on finding solutions. Prior to Thursday, Le’Veon Bell, Jamison Crowder, Marcus Maye, Bradley McDougald, La’Mical Perine and assistant head coach/linebackers coach Frank Bush all voiced their thoughts on the Blake shooting. Sam Darnold and Jonotthan Harrison followed suit after practice on Saturday.

According to Harrison, the Jets have not discussed sitting out any regular-season games in an effort to bring more awareness to the cause, but the dialogue will continue throughout the year.

“Our purpose is to spur action,” the Jets said in the video. “We support other teams and league that are doing the same, and call on those sitting on the sidelines to join us in creating change in our country. Enough is enough. The time is now. We need to do this together.”

Tom Izzo one of many college coaches to join Minority Leadership Initiative

Michigan State Men’s Basketball head coach Tom Izzo is one of over forty college basketball coaches who will be joining the initiative.

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Michigan State Men’s Basketball head coach Tom Izzo, along with many other basketball coaches, has been outspoken this year in regards to racial equality and justice. On Tuesday, it was announced that Izzo, along with over forty other college basketball coaches, will put action behind those words and become ambassadors for the McLendon Foundation’s Minority Leadership Initiative.

The Minority Leadership Initiative is a program created in partnership with the John McLendon Foundation to “create access to and opportunity for meaningful employment experience for minority candidates.” The late John McLendon was the first Black man to be a head coach at a predominately white college.

According to its website, the initiative’s mission is to:

“Provide minorities a jump-start to their careers through practical experiences, opportunities to build their network, and instilling the values of John McLendon: Integrity, Education, Leadership, and Mentorship.”

Izzo will be joined by Michigan head coach Juwan Howard in the initiative, and the program is co-chaired by Kentucky head coach John Calipari and Harvard’s Tommy Amaker.

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Cowboys’ most storied rival to officially retire Redskins name, logo

After 87 years, the Washington Redskins will retire their name and logo after a review, but the club has yet to reveal their new name.

The Cowboys and Redskins have been bitter enemies from the very beginning. The storied rivalry has produced some of the most memorable moments in league history. Some of the sport’s most recognizable names have taken part in the Dallas-Washington grudge match over the past 59 years, with caricaturish Cowboys-versus-Indians imagery spilling over into the collective consciousness of NFL fans for just as long.

But time marches on, sensitivities evolve, and the Cowboys’ oldest rival is getting a brand new name. The Washington franchise announced on Monday that the organization is officially retiring the Redskins name and logo.

The team began in 1932 as the Boston Braves. The name was changed the following year to “Redskins” and remained with the club when they relocated to the nation’s capital in 1937.

The team had resisted previous pressure- dating back may years- to change the racially offensive name. Owner Daniel Snyder insisted that most Native Americans were not offended by the team moniker, and even famously issued the following promise in 2013:

“We’ll never change the name. It’s that simple. NEVER — you can use caps.”

But in the wake of 2020’s powerful and broad sweeping racial justice movement, several sponsors and advertisers publicly called on Snyder to make a long-overdue change. Nike pulling team gear from its online catalogs and FedEx, the naming sponsor of the team’s home stadium, demanding a new name were among the final straws.

The 87-year-old name did not survive the ten-day review announced on July 3.

As stated in the press release, the new name for the team is forthcoming. Whether that’s because the team hasn’t chosen a name or simply hasn’t secured the rights to the name they’ve chosen is unknown at the time of this writing. ProFootballTalk featured a look at one trademark squatter who has secured the rights to a handful of prospective names that Washington may be investigating.

The Cowboys lead the all-time series with the Redskins, 73-45-2. But the rivalry between the clubs dates back to before Dallas even officially had a team.

As a Dallas NFL franchise was being considered, Washington’s then-owner, George Marshall, wanted to block the league from coming to Texas. His was  geographically the closest team to most of the Southern United States, and he was reluctant to allow a new team to sway fans in that part of the country.

But Clint Murchison, owner of the would-be Dallas club, had covertly purchased the rights to “Hail to the Redskins,” the fight song traditionally played at Washington home games (and written in part by Marshall’s wife). Murchison offered to give the rights back to Marshall in exchange for his vote approving his expansion club.

And so the most famous rivalry in pro football was born, even before the Dallas team had a name.

Now it will continue with the Washington team playing under a new one.

See what our own K.D. Drummond had to say about how Snyder and the Washington organization has already managed to foul up their handling of a new name in the latest Morning Minute edition of Catch This Fade.

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Cowboys’ Dontari Poe to Jerry Jones: ‘We need to know we have your support’

Add Dontari Poe to the growing list of Dallas Cowboys players wondering aloud where their employer stands when it comes to their efforts to push back against systemic racism in the United States. The veteran defensive tackle, signed back in March, …

Add Dontari Poe to the growing list of Dallas Cowboys players wondering aloud where their employer stands when it comes to their efforts to push back against systemic racism in the United States.

The veteran defensive tackle, signed back in March, has heard from new head coach Mike McCarthy and new position coach Jim Tomsula, but according to a story from Bleacher Report‘s Kalyn Kahler, the former first-round draft pick says the silence from team owner Jerry Jones is noticeable.

“Haven’t talked to Jerry at all,” Poe says in the Bleacher Report piece. “I hope he comes out and shows his support. … You are an owner of an NFL team—you get what I’m saying? The majority of this team are these people that are being oppressed. So even if you are not going to be in the forefront, we need to know we have your support in that type of way.”

Jones has been conspicuously quiet in the wake of the numerous rallies in cities across the country and ongoing discussions at every level of society following the murder of George Floyd.

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott pledged $1 million in support of police training, education, and advocacy. Running back Ezekiel Elliott appeared in a video addressed to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell demanding an official league response. Team notables Amari Cooper, DeMarcus Ware, Nate Newton, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Gerald McCoy have all publicly spoken out or brought attention to efforts to initiatives for change.

But despite one video alluding to years’ worth of conversations between the team and local judges, police chiefs, and attorneys that “reflects the organization’s statement” on social justice and a few social media posts from team accounts, there has been no direct word from the outspoken owner of “America’s Team” on this issue that affects every corner of America.

For Poe, the issue became personal in 2017. As a member of the Atlanta Falcons that season, Poe took a knee during the national anthem before the team’s Week 3 game. He says he received clear support from Atlanta head coach Dan Quinn.

The following two years, with the Carolina Panthers, Poe served on the team’s player impact committee.

This offseason, Poe tells Bleacher Report that he’s been at the Cowboys’ facility almost every day. As per Kahler, Poe says McCarthy and Tomsula “both voiced their support for the Black community and the fight against systemic racism during Zoom meetings with players.”

But nothing from Jones.

“His silence definitely means a lot because in any other situation [he] will have something to say about most things,” Poe is quoted as saying. “I was once a proponent of doing stuff behind closed doors, and doing what I need to do not out in the forefront. … So hopefully he is doing that, but who knows what he is doing. … Personally, I would hope that he comes out and says, ‘OK, I am willing to help, I am willing to fight, and I am willing to be with y’all.'”

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Michigan State alum Magic Johnson on racial injustice: “This is a call to action for everybody…”

Michigan State alum Magic Johnson spoke on recent protests against racial injustice, calling them a call to action for everybody.

We have continued to monitor Spartans all over the world who have reacted to this vital moment in American history, where we have seen unprecedented protests and calls against racial injustice in the United States, and we have repeatedly seen MSU players, faculty, and alumni answer the call and provide tremendous leadership. The latest being Michigan State alum Magic Johnson, who, on a call with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, spoke on the protests around the country and racial injustice, saying that: “This is a call to action for everybody and their willingness to do whatever to bring about change.”

You can watch the video below:

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Michigan State Athletics website adds diversity and inclusion resources page

The MSU Athletics website has added a dedicated page to diversity and inclusion resources.

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One thing that I think is inarguable is that Michigan State, particularly the Athletics department, has had one of the strongest responses to the racial injustice we have seen around the country, with multiple leaders, from alumni, to coaches, to current players all using their platform to speak up against racism and police brutality in the United States. This week, the Athletics department revealed a new diversity and inclusion section on their website that will be dedicated to communication, education, and collecting resources in the fight against racial injustice. You can access that website here.

The page has a collection of all the statements made by faculty, student-athletes, and alumni along with links to various ways you can help in the fight against inequality in America, information about Juneteenth, and the history of diversity in Michigan State Football.

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