Tag: social activism

Matthew Stafford: ‘Police brutality, white privilege, racism — it’s all real’

“Ask yourself hard questions. But more than anything, listen. It’s time.”

Matthew Stafford normally eschews speaking out about anything. The Lions quarterback famously doesn’t have any social media, and he almost never veers away from the direct football questions during his press conferences throughout his long Lions career.

So it’s definitely noteworthy when Stafford pens a very personal, emotional discourse via The Player’s Tribune. And Stafford really opened up about why he can no longer just stick to football.

In the first-person article titled, “We Can’t Just Stick to Football”, Stafford shares his views on how important it was for the Lions to come together and speak out against social and racial injustice. He then shared a telling anecdote about a private workout this summer that illuminated to him just how pervasive the racial double-standards impact his Black teammates.

“Police brutality, white privilege, racism — it’s all real,” Stafford declares, and then reveals why he knows it to be true. He also noted,

“These are not political problems. These are human problems. It should not be seen as a political statement to discuss this stuff honestly.”

His note on the impact of teammate Trey Flowers’ discussion on what it’s like to be Black and get pulled over for a simple traffic infraction is not something you expect to hear from Stafford. That’s why it’s so important that he said them.

Stafford concludes the piece,

All I can ask you to do, as we continue through this NFL season, is to close your eyes and really put yourself in other people’s shoes. Try for a minute to put all the social media and the politics and the arguing aside, and look within yourself.

Ask yourself hard questions.

But more than anything, listen.

It’s time.

It’s definitely worth your time to listen to Stafford and check out the full article on The Player’s Tribune.

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.”

9 teams follow the Lions’ lead and opt out of practice on Thursday

9 other teams, including the Bears and Packers, are following Detroit’s lead

Matt Patricia and the Detroit Lions might not have intended for their actions to start a broader movement, but it seems that’s exactly what has happened. Two days after the Lions players, coaches and management uniformly decided that speaking out about social justice and racial equality was more important than practicing on the football field, nine other NFL teams followed Detroit’s lead.

The nine teams who opted to stand with the Lions and devote a day of scheduled practice into social activism and awareness include two of Detroit’s NFC North rivals. The impetus for the actions, the police shooting of Jacob Blake, took place in between Chicago and Green Bay in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

  • Chicago Bears
  • Denver Broncos
  • Arizona Cardinals
  • Los Angeles Chargers
  • Indianapolis Colts
  • New York Jets
  • Green Bay Packers
  • Tennessee Titans
  • Washington Football Team

The NBA playoffs were suspended for two days, while the NHL will also not play on Thursday. Several MLB games have been postponed by players as well.

Patricia humbly deflected taking credit for being the first pro sports team to boycott in order to attack social injustice. When asked about it during his pre-practice Zoom session with reporters on Thursday, Patricia responded,

“I appreciate this team and really thankful for this team and the players that I get the privilege to stand in front of every morning, so certainly that’s not lost in any of this conversation. I think those guys are great, and I think that if there’s any chance that we got everybody to maybe stop and think for a minute, that’s really great. I think we have a simple saying as ‘just listen.’ Right now, that’s all we want people to really do is listen.”

Mission accomplished, coach.

Matt Patricia: ‘We all hope that yesterday sticks with all of us forever’

Patricia remains moved by the Lions’ players coming together to speak out

Lions coach Matt Patricia was back in charge of actual football practice on Wednesday, but the dramatic events from Tuesday still played prominently for the third-year head man. When the Lions organization, from the top on down, rallied together to fight social injustice in the police shooting of Jacob Blake, it really meant something to Patricia.

While the coach was gearing back to football mode and getting his team ready for the practice field, the pride and respect Patricia felt in his players and the Lions organization was still very evident in his pre-practice Zoom press conference.

“I think we all hope that yesterday sticks with all of us forever,” Patricia said when asked how Tuesday’s events will stick with him. “Hopefully it makes an impact on someone, somewhere, out there and gives people strength and courage and hope. I think that’s what’s so powerful about it.”

Patricia continued,

“Certainly football is what we do and what we love, but in the end, I think we’re also trying to make great influences on each other and affect people for long-term and affect families. Hopefully we did that, and that’s something that won’t go away.”

The Lions did get back to practicing football following the press conference. Despite the threat of thunderstorms, the team did practice outside at Allen Park.

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Lions players speak out on social media about their social justice crusade

Lions players speak out on social media about their social justice crusade

Football took a backseat for the Detroit Lions on Tuesday. The Lions organization united to take a stand against social injustice, spurred by the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin.

After the players and coach Matt Patricia addressed the media in Allen Park, many of the Lions players took to social media to further their pleas for change and improve social justice across the United States.

Most of the tweets were also retweeted by the Lions organization, a sign of unity and support from the top of the team.

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We will not be silent.

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Lions players take a unified stand to support Jacob Blake

Lions players take a unified stand to support Jacob Blake, who was shot by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin over the weekend

There was no football action at the Detroit Lions headquarters in Allen Park on Tuesday. The practice session scheduled for early afternoon was canceled by the team after the players decided it was more important for them to speak out against the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Blake was shot seven times by police on Sunday, and the shooting was captured on video and widely distributed. It has led to protesting and looting in Kenosha, but the sentiment behind the protesting extends far beyond southeast Wisconsin.

Lions players, led by Duron Harmon, Taylor Decker and Trey Flowers, addressed the media in front of the team’s practice facility as the entire team stood behind them.

The Lions players credited head coach Matt Patricia for being open and receptive to their concerns and desire to do something they felt strongly was bigger than football.

Much more is coming on the Detroit players hoping “to change the world with our platform,” as Flowers stated.

Watch: Duron Harmon discusses thoughts, experiences with racism and social injustice

Detroit Lions safety Duron Harmon joined local media via a virtual press conference, where he shared his thoughts and experiences on racism and social injustice.

On Friday, Detroit Lions safety Duron Harmon joined local media via a virtual press conference, where he shared his thoughts and experiences with racism and social injustice.

For nearly 30-minutes Harmon spoke open and honestly about his experiences with racism, the current events happening across the country in the wake of the death of George Floyd and the ensuing protests.

He acknowledged that now was an appropriate time to take a break from football and credited coach Matt Patricia for allowing the team to voice their frustrations in team meetings.

Harmon called Floyd’s death “heartbreaking” and how it was easy to picture himself, father, cousins, or sons in the exact same scenario. He would go on to share several of his first-hand accounts of racism, including both interactions with police and during typical everyday life activities.

Additionally, Harmon discussed how the death of Ahmaud Arbery (Lions safety Tracy Walker’s cousin) hit the team on a different level, as well as how challenging it was to explain what was happening in the world to his eight-year-old son.

Harmon would go on to discuss the importance of “being a part of something bigger”, using his platform to bring injustices to light, and why it’s important to “allocate time” and resources to these topics moving forward.

You can view the entire press conference in the video below. Please watch. Please listen.

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.”

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#belleislefreedommarch

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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.

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Lions release a statement on “racism and social injustice”

The Detroit Lions have released a statement centered around racism and social injustice.

The Detroit Lions have put Phase 3 of their offseason training program aside in favor of discussions surrounding racism and social injustice, following the recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery (Lions safety Tracy Walker’s cousin).

Today, the organization released the following statement:

“The painful examples of racism and social injustice reflected in the senseless deaths happening in our country are incredibly disturbing and it is clear that immediate change is necessary.

Over the last several days, it was important for our team to gather virtually so that the pain, confusion, anger and frustration that people are feeling could be shared as we attempt to process what is happening around us. This range of emotion has consumed the time we have spent together as a team this week. Our internal conversations have been powerful and emotional. We will continue to listen, support our players and learn as we press forward together.

Right is right and wrong is wrong. What is happening is not acceptable. We recognize that the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery are only the most recent examples plaguing our communities. Our club vows to expand on the work already being done in the Detroit community – through real action and conversation – to help our team make an impact in areas of great need. We have a duty to lead these conversations now and always, but it is equally if not more important that we continue to LISTEN. The events over the past week are a hurtful reminder that we have a long way to go with inclusion, diversity and equality for all people.

We have a responsibility to create positive change.”