FOXBORO – Honestly or not, the McCourty twin is often sought after as the topic shifts from football to social justice and racial equality.
They have embraced that role for years, and they did so again on Thursday when they spoke to journalists via WebEx conference call. However, they acknowledged that answers were difficult to obtain recently.
In the wake of Jacob Blake being shot by police in Kenosha, Wis., After learning that a teenager there killed two Protestants and was later peacefully arrested in Illinois, both Devin and Jason McCourty described a sense of hopelessness.
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The NBA has postponed its post-competition. NFL teams canceled practices. But what would it do, the McCourtys asked her, to cancel a practice at Foxboro only to practice the next day? The Patriots practiced Thursday morning.
“I feel right now, myself, and I know a lot of other guys I’ve talked to in the locker room right now, we’re just lost, man,” Jason McCourty said. “It’s almost like a feeling of hopelessness. In March we had a team discussion via WebEx, and we’re all talking about it. And here we are months later, and we’re talking about the same exact thing.
“And it seems, well, are we canceling the practice? But if we cancel practice today on Thursday, will we cancel the practice tomorrow on Friday? What will get us to go out and practice the next day? We will cancel the practice today. exercise, we sit around, we discuss race, we discuss what happened to Jacob Blake, we talk about what has remained in our country for hundreds of years, but then we go out tomorrow and practice. Nobody cares. I think for us, right now, we’re trying to figure it out …
I think we are lost to ourselves as players. We do not know why we practice. We do not know why we should not practice. We do not know why we should prepare for games. We do not know why we should not. We are completely lost as Americans. We have no idea what the way is to go. We saw last night, NBA players not playing. You now hear reports that two of the teams do not want to play and the rest of the teams do. We are all lost. We have no idea what the right step is. What can I possibly do to change a system that has been around for so many years?
Devin McCourty, who has missed the last two patriot practices for an unknown reason, expressed similar sentiments.
“I’ve been thinking a lot the last few days,” he said. “I’ve had so many different emotions from being angry, being sad. A lot has really been what I try to talk to a lot of kids about. I feel very hopeless. I have no explanation. I have nothing powerful. It is “I’ve just been very discouraged. I’ve seen things transpire, lives are still lost and it’s not just police brutality. It’s all we’re dealing with … I’ll just felt very hopeless the last few days.”
The Patriots have no formal discussions about canceling Thursday’s training session as future practices, but Jason McCourty explained that teammates discussed their feelings among themselves. There was a plan, according to Jason McCourty, for the Patriots to have more formal discussions after Thursday’s practice.
“We have done that in the past and we intend to do that,” he said. “I do not know. I spoke to Duron [Harmon], I know they did that in Detroit, and they kind of started. And I thought what they did was great. Does it fix anything? If we cancel the practice and we sit and we meet and we talk, does that change anything? If we stay inside for the national anthem, and then we go out and we play four quarters in the game and we kill everyone, does that change anything?
“And I think that’s what I’m struggling with. We’ll cancel the practice and we’ll sit and talk – does Thursday’s practice just move to Friday? Does anyone write a story on Thursday that the Patriots cancel the practice, and then tomorrow is the headline , ‘Cam Newton Thrills At Practice’? And then we just go on and talk about what happened that day: who’s out, who’s injured, who’s come back, who had an interrogator, who had a nice run interrupted. It’s just going forward. And it’s just like, ‘Yeah, that was great, they canceled the practice, they did something. Oh, but they came out the next day to practice and that’s where we’re. will write about it and we will discuss it. ‘”
Patriots Talk Podcast: McCourtys fights feelings of ‘hopelessness’ after Kenosha is shot | Listen & subscribe
Jason McCourty digs deeper into the coverage of the recent social justice movement and how athletes factor into it.
He recalled earlier this offseason when Devin McCourty spoke to journalists, did not take questions, but instead made a series of statements about issues that were not football and that he felt they needed to be addressed. In the end, McCourty criticized the NFL’s opt-out policy, which had a tough deadline for players to make their decisions.
“I went on Twitter after that,” Jason McCourty said, “and the thing I saw the most was ‘Devin McCourty basheart the NFL and the opt-out date.’ Nothing said, “Devin McCourty addresses Breonna Taylor. Devin McCourty talks about equal rights for all. Devin McCourty talks about votes.” That’s not what it’s about, it’s about the NFL.
“And I feel like you see players on the Lakers and the Clippers who have said, ‘Hey, we do not think we should play this game. And they’re trying to get the attention. But then I read some of it. Draymond Green and it was just like, as athletes we always feel the need to stop playing in order to make a change.But at the end of the day we play a sport that is also a business.And how many others companies see you being shut down right now? Do you see the CEO of Apple or YouTube or Google saying, “Hey, we’ll shut up. We’ll boycott after work. We will not do this anymore.”
That it’s a struggle. Because there are moments, I feel, man, screw this up. I do not go out of my way to impress anyone when I feel how I feel. And is that good? Does that matter? Is that honest? And it’s just, it’s been a ridiculous fight.
It is unclear how the Patriots will advance. Will trainings be canceled? Will there be a statement from the team? Will further action be promised by players, coaches and property to strive for change?
“Honestly, I did not even consider a team aspect,” Devin McCourty said. “As an individual, like, I’m not been able to tackle anything, let alone be a voice for boys about what we should or should not do. I do not have that answer. I have not tried the man for or what to I have tried to treat things from an individual point of view in order to understand.
“I’ve talked to boys separately or just about how I feel and try to measure how they feel and try to make sense, but it has been individually difficult for me to even try to say, ‘Man, we have to I’ve been involved and been a guy who says, ‘This is important. Guys, let’s do this.’ At the moment I do not know if I am telling a young rookie, ‘We do not have to practice because we have to.’ I do not have that answer, I do not know what to tell a young rookie – Black, white – I do not care.
“I do not know what to tell them what we as a team need to do next, to help different black and brown communities that are struggling. Whether it’s police brutality now, whether it’s education now, or whether it’s health care now – I have they don’t answer to help those people. I do not want to do anything just to do it, because everyone does it. I’m still looking for it in myself. “
Back in June, the Kraft family announced that they had pledged $ 1 million to local grassroots organizations, selected in partnership with players who fight for self-sufficiency, work to end systemic racism, and make meaningful change in the community. The elected organizations are invited to Foxboro to train leaders in the Patriots organization.
Could owners over the NFL do more, Devin McCourty was asked?
“I do not know if that is the change that is needed,” he said. “For NFL owners to get more involved, I think it would be great. I think if we had that over the league – I know here in New England, that I had a lot of conversations with Mr. Kraft about various things. .I do not know. Would it help people to see Mr. Kraft jump in front of a camera and say how he feels about the things in Wisconsin? Would that cure all the things that are going on in our country? helping different people in Wisconsin with guns around? Because in my eyes when I see that, it’s pretty threatening to see someone walking around with a loaded gun. But, for some people in Wisconsin, that’s not threatening at all. How do we change that?
How do we get people to understand the difference between being a black person and being a white man – a black man and a white man? Why can they be seen as walking straight down the street? If someone has a gun, it can be threatening, but the one who does not have a gun when he is Black can threaten someone more. I do not know if property has behind us that makes noise louder.
“I think we’re at the point in our country where we have the most awareness we’ve ever had. You’re talking about 2020 with social media and all the different outlets over the last few months – people have been talking about this non-stop. I do not know. I could not give you an immediate answer. If we all boycott week 1, will that solve the problem? I do not know, because it does matter if everyone comes back to play week 2. I find that all on ‘ the table must.I am not saying that these are not solutions.
“It’s just hard. It’s just hard right now. I’ve had the opportunity to be a lot of smart people, and I’ll continue to lean on them and always try and brainstorm with a lot of different individuals.”
