For almost two hours, the Washington Football Team huddled inside their facility in Ashburn. Coaches and players were supposed to be at FedEx Field, on the field, practicing football. Instead, like other teams and organizations across all of sports, they were talking — and not about plays, or games or season goals.
This conversation was about race, death and justice.
After last weekend’s police shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, coach Ron Rivera and new team president Jason Wright decided to take the focus off football Thursday and give players an opportunity to share their thoughts.
There was concern, disappointment and, of course, anger over the shooting, Rivera said. Throughout the meeting, Rivera said the team brainstormed ways for Washington to take further action.
“A lot of them just wanted to be heard,” Rivera said.
The sports world came mostly to a halt Thursday as games, practices and events were postponed or canceled in response to the shooting of Blake, who was shot seven times in the back by a White police officer.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice said Wednesday that Blake, who survived the shooting but is paralyzed from the waist down, had a knife in his possession, but it’s unclear from videos of the incident whether he threatened officers. The incident has sparked nightly riots and clashes with police in the Wisconsin city.
NBA players agreed to resume their season, but Thursday’s games were still postponed. The NHL and WNBA also scrapped the day’s slate of games, while select baseball games — including a Thursday night matchup between the Washington Nationals and Philadelphia Phillies — were called off. Washington was among a handful of NFL teams to cancel practice.
The actions followed an eventful Wednesday evening, when the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks opted to boycott their playoff game against the Orlando Magic because of the Blake incident. Milwaukee’s decision led to a series of postponements across sports.
Reaction was divided. President Trump said the NBA was becoming a political organization, while Democratic presidential candidate Joseph R. Biden and former President Barack Obama applauded the activism.
Rivera said he remembered a time when politics and sports could be held separate. But that time is over, the coach said, and he wants to make sure his players are ready.
“I was one of those guys back in the day you didn’t use your sports platform for (politics,)” said Rivera, who played nine seasons in the NFL before coaching. “But in today’s world, so many people admittedly look up to the professional athletes, to the sporting community to help with social direction.
“So now these guys know they have a platform … As time has gone on, the realization that we have an opportunity to voice our opinion, we have an opportunity to influence and impact — why not? Why shouldn’t we use it? Why shouldn’t we do it the right way?”
Thirty-five miles away from Ashburn, the Nationals were having their own conversations at Nationals Park. Philadelphia’s players decided to boycott the game, and when Washington manager Dave Martinez found out, he said the Nationals were completely supportive. The two sides then decided to focus on racial injustice.
Martinez, his voice breaking with emotion at times, said it was a “humanitarian issue.” It is time, he said, to speak up. There were more important things than playing, Martinez said.
“Things have to change,” Martinez said. “You guys know how I have to feel about it. There’s ugliness in this world. That needs to be fixed. That needs to start now.”
Many observers are curious to see what comes next.
The Nationals still planned Thursday on playing Friday’s game against the Boston Red Sox. With MLB’s shortened season, Jackie Robinson Day, when all teams wear No. 42 to commemorate the league’s first Black player, is on Friday — and Martinez said it was important for the Nationals to be a part of it. The team was scheduled to fly to Boston later Thursday.
Washington’s football team, too, is set to practice Friday.
But over the course of Thursday afternoon, players and coaches discussed the need to continue to speak about racial injustice issues. There was also discussion about taking concrete actions. Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians said protests “don’t do crap” and challenged his players to find ways to make a direct difference.
On CNBC, White House advisor Jared Kushner, who is President Trump’s son-in-law, said he planned to reach out to NBA star LeBron James and wanted to see the league turn “from slogans and signals into actual action that’s going to solve the problem.” Kushner chided the league’s players, saying they have the financial luxury of being able to take a night off.
Rivera said that after the meeting, he heard from a few players who shared their ideas as to how the team could continue their efforts. Previously, Washington had formed a network for Black employees and set up a town hall format for people to share their experiences with race in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
“We can support a lot of different things, but something that’s truly ours would be, I think, a neat way to handle it,” Rivera said, “and I think that’s what the players are interested in doing.”
“We have to demand change,” Washington safety Landon Collins wrote on Instagram. “We cannot be silent. We have to speak out and scream that the injustices and unfair treatment of African Americans in the country has to stop. We must do the work. We must vote.”
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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