Tag: social injustice

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.

Watch: Frank Ragnow shares how teammates have changed his perspective

During a virtual press conference with the Detroit Lions media, offensive lineman Frank Ragnow shared how teammates’ stories of racism and social injustice have changed his perspective.

On Friday, Detroit Lions safety Duron Harmon shared with the media some of the conversations the Lions’ players and coaches have been having during their virtual offseason after putting football on hold to discuss racism and social injustice.

Later in the day, during his own virtual press conference, Lions’ offensive lineman Frank Ragnow shared how those conversations with Harmon and other teammates’ have changed his perspective.

Ragnow discussed how he didn’t realize just how different his life experiences were from his teammates: “Obviously, I was aware that there was a problem in this country, and I knew we are not perfectly united as a country. But I just, I’m sick to my stomach the things that I have heard from some of my teammates and some of my friends and some of my brothers that they have to worry about and they have to deal with.”

Ragnow would touch on several relevant topics but his most impactful statements came near the end of the meeting when he discussed “white privilege” and holding others responsible for their actions.

“I feel like some white people get defensive when people say ‘white privilege,'” Ragnow said. “White privilege doesn’t mean you’ve had a privileged life. It doesn’t mean you’ve had no trouble, no problems, no adversity. It just means your skin color hasn’t caused that problem. And what I’ve been able to learn from a bunch of very smart people, a bunch of people who are being impacted by this, is that I just need to listen.”

Understanding language is vital to any conversation, and when asked what he felt was his responsibility moving forward was, Ragnow responded:

“The challenge my teammates have brought to me, one of the messages I’ve got, it has to be not (just) in the public spotlight … but I have to be holding my friends in a private conversation accountable. I have to be holding my neighbor — who might have said something not acceptable — I have to hold them accountable… Because that’s how we eliminate it. We eliminate it when people think they’re the most comfortable, and we make them uncomfortable, and we make it not ok. ”

You can watch Ragnow’s entire 23-minute press conference via the Lions’ YouTube channel in the video below:

Watch: Tracy Walker joins CNN to discuss change in the NFL

Detroit Lions safety Tracy Walker joined CNN’s Chris Cuomo to discuss change in the NFL and remembering his cousin Ahmaud Arbery.

Detroit Lions safety Tracy Walker joined CNN’s Chris Cuomo to discuss change in the NFL and remembering his cousin Ahmaud Arbery.

“It definitely means a lot,” Walker said of Roger Goodell’s video condemning racism and the systematic oppression of black people, “because that’s the first step, I feel like. Us all uniting as one to accomplish the common goal we are trying to reach — which is equality.”

When asked if he interpreted Goodell’s message as allowing players to protest on the sidelines of an NFL game, Walker pointed to the message indicating that collectively “we all need to be better”.

“We need change and we all see that,” Walker continued. “We all see that we’ve got to come together and basically unite as one. And like I said, if we don’t buy-in and unite as one, we’re going to continue to still go through this and so I feel like that’s kinda the step we’re taking right now.”

Walker wrapped up the interview talking about his cousin Arbery, focusing on the positives and remembering the person he was instead of how he died.

You can watch the entire interview in the Twitter clip from Cuomo’s show below:

Jay Monahan releases letter to PGA Tour personnel on George Floyd’s death, social injustice

Jay Monahan released a letter to PGA Tour staff, players and tournaments addressing social injustice and how to proceed as a “Tour family.”

On Friday, the PGA Tour publicly addressed the topics of social injustice and the Black Lives Matter movement which is growing across the globe.

As part of the Tour’s first public reaction to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25 and resulting protests, Commissioner Jay Monahan and Harold Varner III conversed for nearly 12 minutes in a video posted by the PGA Tour.

Monahan said earlier in the week, he released a letter to Tour staff, players and tournaments addressing social injustice and how to proceed as a “Tour family.” The PGA Tour plans to resume its 2020 season Thursday at Colonial Country Club for the Charles Schwab Challenge. The PGA Tour season was postponed in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The following letter was written by Monahan and sent to PGA Tour staff, players and tournaments this week and posted by the PGA Tour on Friday morning.

A time to communicate and search for answers

This past weekend, I – like many of you, I’m sure – spent a lot of time trying to understand and process the civil unrest that has engulfed many cities across the United States, following the tragic death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The hardships and injustices that have and continue to impact the African-American community are painful to watch and difficult to comprehend. And as a citizen of this country and a leader of this organization, I must admit that I’m struggling with what my role should be. But I am not giving up.  

I’ve often heard that if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. What can I say? What should I do?

I’m certain many of you are asking those same questions.

In the midst of that confusion, as usually happens, the PGA Tour family steps up to shine a light of perspective and compassion. First, I had several meaningful and emotional conversations this weekend with colleagues and friends in the African-American community, who – once again – showed me that sometimes listening and making a commitment to understand are the only things you can offer, and that’s OK. And I learned that two of our PGA TOUR YOU groups – CORE and HONOR – took it upon themselves to work over the weekend on a unified message … reminding all of us at the TOUR of our shared values, offering help for those who may need it and providing perspective on how to be there for each other as we navigate this incredibly complex and painful issue, together. 

What I was left with was this: make no mistake about it – someone you know and care about is hurting right now, even if they haven’t told you that directly (and, of course, our work-from-home, socially distant way of living right now is not helping the cause). And if anyone at the Tour is hurting, we should all hurt. That’s how a family works.  

To that end, please also spend a few minutes on THIS ARTICLE that expresses an important and powerful viewpoint from the African-American community, not only in relation to the recent tragic headlines, but also the fear and sadness created by the inequality and racism that still presides in the 21st century. Too often we just move on when we are not directly influenced by the news of the day. Yes, we have all been impacted by the global pandemic, but we should also be painfully aware and impacted by the dividing lines in our country.

We might not know exactly what to do right now, but we shouldn’t be deterred. We should communicate and learn. We should talk to our family, friends and colleagues in an open and compassionate way. We should grow as individuals and as an organization. And, most importantly, we should demand better.   

Jay Monahan

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.

Notre Dame: Braden Lenzy’s Powerful Message

Notre Dame speedster Braden Lenzy spoke up about the injustices in the United States. Read what he had to say in a post to UND.com today.

Braden Lenzy is a weapon on the football field who possesses lightning quick speed that very few can compete with.  He had a coming out party of sorts in 2019 as he sparked Notre Dame in several contests.

Braden Lenzy isn’t just a football player.

Braden Lenzy is doing more than just posting on social media crying for a change.  More importantly, he’s calling on others of all races to do the same.

Lenzy has already taken his thoughts to social media, offering a look into his perspective.

Lenzy penned a letter that was posted to the Notre Dame athletics website on Thursday.  You can read the entire letter here and I recommend you do.  Some of the thought and hopefully change-provoking messages include:

Are we so blind as a nation to neglect such a large portion of our country we claim is “the home of the free,” that we won’t admit that everyone isn’t free?

As I woke up today, I felt the need to truly speak up. The nation I grew up loving is failing, and justice has yet to be served. George Floyd’s tragic death struck the hearts of all black men and women around the world, and it forced us to take action.

…

We have come to a point in time where silence is no longer acceptable. The hashtags will no longer cut it. The police brutality that we have endured for my entire life must come to a stop. No one man or woman was created above the other, and it’s time our nation reflects that. 

…

I ask you this, America: show love and seek justice. No matter who you are, you can play a role. Peacefully protesting, donating to this cause, or even having a simple conversation with someone who needs it is doing so much. But I strongly urge you to make an effort. Do what is right. Take the steps needed that our fallen Black brothers and sisters should have experienced before they were taken from us. Don’t let the media sway you away from the biggest issue. We need everyone. We truly need you all. We are in pain and we need you. Please stand with us. 

Good for Lenzy for speaking what’s on his mind and for the reminder that some may need, that he’s more than just a football player that wears jersey number 25 on Saturday, but that he’s a young man growing up in a country that unfortunately hasn’t changed to the degree some of us would like to think.