Photo Credit: Dallas Cowboys
FRISCO, TEXAS — In the aftermath of the death of 29-year-old Jacob Blake, a black man shot by Kenosha police, sports teams are taking a historical stand to demand racial equality.
Just months after the death of George Floyd that illuminated the discussion of social injustice and sparked protests across the nation, the events in Kenosha Wisconsin have stirred further infuriation in unstable times. The Milwaukee Bucks boycotted Game Five and the Detroit Lions cancelled their Tuesday practice to conduct open conversations on systematic oppression and how to create change.
On Thursday, Mike McCarthy addressed the media with a heartfelt message during the country’s troubling times.
“ …It’s hard to sit here and to think I have to talk about football today, especially with everything that’s going on in our country…a disturbing situation in Kenosha, Wisconsin. With that, I want to let you guys know that the conversations within our football team are ongoing…obviously difficult times where things have to change. “
The team held practice on Thursday as scheduled but conversations on the current events continued throughout the day during afternoon meetings.
“ Practicing today was obviously a team decision, “ Darian Thompson said. “ We are not shedding a blind eye to the things that are occurring in this world today. Many situations are difficult to talk about but they do need to be talked about and that’s an ongoing conversation between our teammates and our staff to try to figure out how to make a difference in this world today. “
That discussion began following the morning practice when Joe Looney led the team in a prayer on the field. The most humorous and light-hearted player on the Cowboys’ roster shared his thoughts with the team on the importance of unity and faith.
“ Joe is one of the most amazing people I have ever met in my life and I am so lucky and fortunate to have him as a teammate, “ Leighton Vander Esch shared with media. “ Just his spiritual side, he’s a man of God. It’s just awesome to see and have guys like that on the team that are like yourself that you can talk to, that you can bond with. He just shared with everybody that if everybody just comes to loving each other and caring for each other rather than hate. It’s right from wrong, that’s really what it is. It has nothing to do with, ‘oh you’re bad’ -it’s just doing right and wrong. That’s all it is. He just shared with us that if more people come closer to God, come closer together, and just embrace each other and know that we’re all in this together, that’s when things are going to really change. “
