Sports and the Protests

wv wrote:

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Ok. Go ahead and move it.

w
v

I can’t move posts. Only the poster can do that (the method being simply to post it again in the new spot.) So it’s up to you, whether you would like it there (in the thread already going) or here (as a new separate thread).

Anquan Boldin draws on experience as Americans protest for justice https://t.co/9g4ix8QpPp

— Joe Curley (@vcsjoecurley) June 2, 2020

#Chargers coach Anthony Lynn and @LZGranderson combine on this fascinating column in the @latimes. It includes this from Lynn: "Before he told me why he was pulling me over he asked if I was on parole or had I been to jail.” https://t.co/QEpCN8bihU

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 2, 2020

This raw conversation by colleagues ⁦@JimTrotter_NFL⁩ , ⁦@judybattista⁩ ⁦@jeffrichadiha⁩ and ⁦@MikeSilver⁩ about the importance of white NFL players finally raising their voices in this time of unrest is spectacular. Real talk https://t.co/EdAyCTDgHq

— Steve Wyche (@wyche89) June 3, 2020

Press coverage: @judybattista, @jeffrichadiha, @MikeSilver & @JimTrotter_NFL discuss NFL reaction to George Floyd's death. What's the significance of prominent white players speaking up on police brutality against people of color?https://t.co/6zg8y7eAyj pic.twitter.com/QyLhjuxlLs

— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) June 3, 2020

Richard Sherman, Chris Long and I were asked about the "stick to sports" mantra. Our responses …👇🏾 pic.twitter.com/XYu9Fk0r1A

— Jim Trotter (@JimTrotter_NFL) June 3, 2020

Jim Trotter@JimTrotter_NFL
Man, hearing from different teams about the virtual conversations that have taken place among players, coaches and executives. Words that keep coming up: powerful, emotional. Some participants have been moved to tears during talks. This *feels* unlike anything I’ve covered.

wv wrote:

Good Lord. Matt Waldman knows about the Tulsa thing? Wow.
Very impressed.

w
v

I have another Waldman tweet series in another thread. His jumping off point is that he’s a white guy who married a black woman and had a daughter who is of course black. The premise is that no matter how liberal and enlightened you think you are, if you’re white, actually experiencing black america through a direct emotional connection is a whole different thing. He talks about what he saw and learned.

It’s here, on page one of this thread: http://theramshuddle.com/topic/police-v-demonstrators-protesting-killing-of-george-floyd/

Though I will probably move it to its own thread. I’ll edit a link in here if I do.

"Enough is enough."

The @packers are displaying their unity. pic.twitter.com/s48mkXCxtr

— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) June 4, 2020

Colts GM Chris Ballard: ‘I can’t sit here and remain silent’

https://www.nfl.com/news/colts-gm-chris-ballard-i-can-t-sit-here-and-remain-silent

As protests of police brutality continue across the nation in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, it’s impossible to deny that the United States is experiencing a moment in its history.

The hope is it ends up being a moment of positive and perhaps even transformative change. Colts general manager Chris Ballard knows it has at the very least gotten his attention and forced him to acknowledge the systemic issues in this nation. It has also forced him to look in the mirror, through which he realized he’s had the privilege of ignoring those same systemic issues because they don’t affect him.

“I can’t sit here and remain silent because that’s exactly what we’ve done every time our black community screams and yells for help,” Ballard said during a Thursday unscheduled videoconference call with reporters. “We have to end social injustices and racial inequalities. We have to end the police violence against our black communities. Black lives matter. I don’t understand why that’s so freaking hard for the white community to say. Black lives matter.

“I’ve been ignorant. I’ve been ignorant to the real problem, and I’m ashamed of that. I just came to the realization here over the last 10 days with some really hard, difficult conversations that’s we’ve had as an organization, as a team, with my family, with my sons. And I’ve been ignorant to the real problem.”

Ballard knows his overlooking of the inequities faced by African Americans isn’t just a problem with his approach, but a significant issue with a large portion of the country. He said he realized that through his own ignorance, his children were left uninformed “about what’s going on in our country … and they have no idea. And that’s my fault.”

As someone who holds a position of influence with a platform, he’s decided to stop talking football or sticking to sports during this time and instead come out with a strong, unprompted and unprepared statement on the matter at hand.

“See, this is not a black problem, this is a white problem,” Ballard said. “This is an issue that we have to talk about and we can’t sugarcoat it, we can’t sugarcoat our way out of this. We can’t go back into our bubble, because that’s what we’ve always done. We’ve always gone right back into our bubble and we’ve never really listened.

“We haven’t listened, I haven’t listened. We haven’t listened as a country. White America refuses to listen. We want to keep things the same and it can’t, or we’ll continue down the same paths we’re continuing down. And that has to change, and nothing will change until we do that. I’m ashamed of that.”

Ballard’s first step has been to speak with those closest to him — family, friends, colleagues and the members of the roster he’s assembled in Indianapolis — to better understand the whole situation. He said his Colts “have guys hurting, and I didn’t know that.”

But one of the more notable members of the team gave Ballard a simple explanation that he said will drive him to act, starting with his comments Thursday.

“I thought Jacoby Brissett put it best: ‘You’re either part of the solution, or you’re part of the problem,'” Ballard said, via The Athletic’s Stephen Holder. “I want to do my part. My family is going to do its part.”

View this post on Instagram

To @realdonaldtrump Through my ongoing conversations with friends, teammates, and leaders in the black community, I realize this is not an issue about the American flag. It has never been. We can no longer use the flag to turn people away or distract them from the real issues that face our black communities. We did this back in 2017, and regretfully I brought it back with my comments this week. We must stop talking about the flag and shift our attention to the real issues of systemic racial injustice, economic oppression, police brutality, and judicial & prison reform. We are at a critical juncture in our nation’s history! If not now, then when? We as a white community need to listen and learn from the pain and suffering of our black communities. We must acknowledge the problems, identify the solutions, and then put this into action. The black community cannot do it alone. This will require all of us.

A post shared by Drew Brees (@drewbrees) on Jun 5, 2020 at 7:10pm PDT

I can’t listen to Godell on this. I’m sorry. I’m close-minded, and there is nothing he can say that won’t come across to me as this: “Hey! The tide has turned, and it looks like it’s safe for us to take the moral stand we refused to take a few years ago. So sorry. And sorry for the careers we destroyed. Let’s play ball!”