Houston Texans wide receiver Kenny Stills on Wednesday unveiled a plan for “systemic change” in society as NBA, WNBA and MLB games were postponed over the shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin.
Milwaukee Bucks players failed to watch their playoff game against the Orlando Magic in a protest against police brutality after Blake was shot several times Sunday by Kenosha police officers who responded to a domestic dispute in a moment caught on mobile video. Blake’s family says he tried to intervene peacefully in the incident when he was shot in the back and is now partially paralyzed, according to reports.
The entire NBA league was later postponed, and the WNBA and three MLB games followed.
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Stills has been among the NFL players at the forefront of the league’s social justice initiative. In a series of tweets, he mentioned ways that can change society.
Houston Texans wide receiver Kenny Stills is set to make a catch during an NFL training camp football practice on Monday, August 24, 2020 in Houston. (Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle via AP, pool)
“Those who have understood the work that it is about the system that is in place. Yes, we want justice in these cases, but we also need systemic change,” he wrote.
“Where demands can begin for systemic change: Abolish the police and invest in our communities + solutions for non-police.
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“Run of privatized prisons, end free / cheap prison work.
“Repairs for slavery and mass imprisonment.
“Stop undermining police unions of justice.”
Stills backed Colin Kaepernick in 2016 when the quarterback knelt in front of the national anthem to protest racial law and police brutality. He said Monday that “many lives” could be saved if the NFL first listened to him.
“He can say what he wants to say now, but in that sense, if we had taken a stricter stance and he would have listened to us in the beginning, there would have been so many lives that could be saved.” Says Stills, referring to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, according to ESPN. “There’s been a lot of progress we could have made in our legal action, in our police force, so it’s a nice gesture, say he wishes he would have done something different, but look at the NFL.
“The NFL needs to do a better job of listening to players, understanding their issues and doing something about them.
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“We need to be the leaders in our country, and I feel we find a way to always be … We are reactive instead of proactive when it comes to many problems in our country and within the league as well.”
Fox News’ Dan Canova and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
