More NFL teams join Washington, Lions in canceling football activities to focus on racial injustice
The Milwaukee Bucks started a movement that reached the NFL world, too.
The Bucks decided to not play Game 5 of their NBA first-round playoff series against the Orlando Magic to bring attention to racial injustice in the wake of Jacob Blake being shot by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Two other NBA games were called off after players decided to not play. Three Major League Baseball games were postponed too, as was the WNBA schedule.
The NFL doesn’t have games for two weeks, but teams started calling off practice Thursday to focus on important issues off the field.
Teams start to cancel Thursday practices
The Detroit Lions started the conversation, canceling practice on Tuesday to talk about justice issues. Washington was the the first team to cancel a practice for Thursday, scrapping a stadium workout to have discussions on racial injustice.
The Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets, Tennessee Titans and Arizona Cardinals joined Washington in calling off Thursday practices. The Denver Broncos decided to call off practice after a two-hour meeting according to NFL Network’s James Palmer.
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) August 27, 2020
The Packers postponed their practice that was scheduled for 10:30 a.m. while the Bears players said they were pausing football activities.
Statement from Chicago Bears players: pic.twitter.com/pEL2ywtMD1
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 27, 2020
The Ravens did practice but planned to meet to discuss social issues. The Jaguars met for over two hours Thursday morning, coach Doug Marrone said, but planned to practice at 11 a.m.
Like Washington, the Los Angeles Chargers also had a scrimmage scheduled for Thursday but ended up calling it off.
In a league that started the movement with Colin Kaepernick four years to the day, the Bucks decided they would not play the Magic. There will be ongoing discussions about topics that are of utmost importance to many people in the NFL.
How will activism continue?
The conversations happening in the NBA about sitting out not just specific games but the rest of the playoffs could happen in the NFL. The league has about 70 percent Black players and like some stars in other sports, they have a platform and want their voices to resonate on these topics.
NFL players have discussed they could kneel during the national anthem again, and this time around the NFL itself has been smarter about not fighting against that.
There have been many prominent voices across sports, many of which have been emotional in sharing their perspective. NFL voices will be heard too.
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