Detroit Lions Protest Shooting of Jacob Blake, Father of 3, Who was Shot 7 Time by Police, by Cancelling Practice
On Sunday, Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old African-American man with three young boys was shot by police seven times in Kenosha, Wisconsin, paralyzing him, in what his father calls a “senseless attempted murder”. To protest the shooting, the Detroit Lions canceled their practice scheduled for Tuesday.
Safety for the Lions, Duron Harmon, told the media, “As a team, we looked each other in the eyes and realized that football isn’t important today. We have a platform that we are able to use not just to raise awareness but to create change.”
Defensive end of the Detroit Lions, Trey Flowers, knows the importance of speaking up, “We can’t be silent. We can’t stay silent. We cannot be going on in the world with our regular day. So today, unified we stand here and we came up with these words, these slogans, and we spread the message, spread the word.”
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Blake has been hospitalized since the shooting and his attorney, Ben Crump, said, “It’s going to take a miracle for Jacob Blake Jr. to ever walk again.”
Offensive tackle, Talor Decker, shared how his perspective as a white male is very different than many of his teammates as Black males. “Just to hear the pain and fear from people that I care about, people that I love, are going through, I know it’s not my reality, but they shouldn’t have to go through that. They shouldn’t have to have that fear.”
Lion’s coach, Matt Patricia, was very supportive of his team’s actions and understands their decision, “This team’s — the group of men that we have in that locker room, that’s a good group of men. I love those guys. We obviously understand the football side of it, but it’s not about football today.”
