vid/MMQB: Rams give tickets to Ferguson high school football teams for GB game

This looks at first as though it belongs on the “Public House” board. But then if you read it, it’s about something the Rams front office did. But it’s a judgement call. If folks prefer it on the other board, I will take it down here. The discussion that follows however should be Rams-related…discussing the political dimensions belongs on the Public House board. It’s up over there, too.

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http://mmqb.si.com/2014/08/18/san-francisco-49ers-levis-stadium-debuts/5/

5. I think you should watch The MMQB this week for reporting from riot-torn Ferguson, Mo., from our Robert Klemko. http://mmqb.si.com/2014/08/16/nfl-player-david-bass-ferguson-racial-profiling/ The reportage began with this story from the weekend about Chicago defensive lineman David Bass, who grew up in the area and discusses the racial profiling he felt he encountered there. Klemko was on site Saturday night and Sunday, and spent time with some of the key people in the drama, and some of the high school football players and coaches who are trying to make a normal life for themselves in the midst of the strife.

6. I think if you’re wondering about the Rams’ involvement in the local story, wonder no more. Klemko has uncovered that the Rams provided tickets for high school players from the stricken area to the preseason game against Green Bay on Saturday. He filed this to me Sunday, and he’ll have more in a story on our site this week:

Watching the violence over Michael Brown’s killing unfold in Ferguson last week, a Rams staffer thought of the high schoolers, specifically, the boys who are supposed to play in their first football game of the season this weekend. Rams manager of fan development & alumni relations Kyle Eversgerd put in a call to coaches at McCluer High, McCluer North and McCluer South; there would be 75 free tickets awaiting each team if they chose to come to Saturday’s preseason game at the Edward Jones Dome.

“In light of everything going on it just kind of hit me,” says Eversgerd, whose job includes outreach with local high schools. “I can’t imagine with all that stuff going on, how tough it must be to practice. We were able to get them away from it all.”

So as hundreds of protesters faced off with police on the now-infamous West Florissant Avenue on Saturday night in Ferguson, leaving a man critically wounded by gunfire just yards from the homes of area children, the boys from three local teams were at their first NFL game, watching Aaron Rodgers and Sam Bradford from the 400 level. Said McCluer coach Mario MacDonald, “Our kids are focused on this season, but I worry about them out here, to be honest.”

At McCluer, MacDonald estimates more than 75% of his roster comes from single-parent homes, and most would not have been able to otherwise afford tickets that average about $100. The game was a welcome distraction; many McCluer players are angry with police and inclined to protest after Michael Brown’s shooting death here a week ago. On the bus ride to the game, players saw protesters on Florissant and started chanting, “Hands Up! Don’t Shoot!”

Then they focused on football.

“It was overwhelming to see the NFL live, for real,” said senior running back Henry Jones, “You saw how fast they played, and how they played together. I’ve been thinking about it ever since. I could actually see myself out there playing.”