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We need to talk: NFL health and safety protocols prove effective
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Less than 24 hours after the Milwaukee Bucks dusted off the sports world refuse to play a play-off game and forcing the NBA to take a different stance against social injustice by postponing playoff games in the wake of Jacob Blake’s shooting, following several NFL franchises followed by canceling Thursday practices.
The Washington football team was the first team to cancel the practice for Thursday on Wednesday night, a stadium practice at FedEx Field, and other teams followed suit. The Indianapolis Colts, Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, Arizona Cardinals, and New York Jets are the other teams to cancel the practice, while the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, and Jacksonville Jaguars will practice. More teams will make a decision as the day goes on.
Blake was fired seven times Sunday night by a Kenosha, Wisconsin police officer as he tried to get into his car. Officers tried to arrest Blake after a female caller reported that her friend was present and would not be on the scene, according to investigators from the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation. When officers arrived, they tried to arrest Blake and used a taser to stop him. Blake then walked around his car, “opened the driver’s side door, and leaned forward,” per the office.
An officer grabbed Blake’s shirt and shot him seven times in the back, leaving Blake paralyzed from the waist down. The officer, Rusten Sheskey, was placed on administrative leave.
“Mr. Snyder and (Washington President of the Washington) Jason (Wright) will join us tomorrow in the discussion with the team, just as Mr. Snyder and I will support Jason in similar discussions we are planning for. members of the business and stadium side of the organization, “said head coach Ron Rivera in Washington in a press release. “We are all in this together. And as a team, we will work to find ways that we can make a positive impact in our communities.”
The Colts tweeted the “team will use the day to discuss and work to create a lasting social impact and inspiring change in our communities.” Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, whose family lives in Wisconsin, said the Cowboys have ongoing talks and will continue to do so.
“I have to be honest, it’s hard to sit here and think I have to talk about football today, especially with everything that is happening in our country,” McCarthy said Thursday in his press conference. “Obviously difficult times where things have to change. I find it disturbing.”
The Eagles have an off-day Friday, which they have scheduled a meeting of the Social Justice Committee. The Detroit Lions canceled the practice Tuesday and stood outside the facility to protest the Blake incident, becoming the first NFL team to take a stand.
