2020 NFL Off-Season Thread

[ThrillhouseMAX]

 

You gotta be fucking kidding me. 

[gunnar hendershow]

Wasn't there a guy a few years ago trying to bring attention to these issues?

[Krabby]

9 minutes ago, damsher hatfield said:

Wasn't there a guy a few years ago trying to bring attention to these issues?

Something like Rawlin Slapperstick?

[Schlitzbrille]

Whatever his name was, he had good hair and upside.

[Lint]

4 hours ago, El Tiburon said:

 

You gotta be fucking kidding me. 

Thats rich considering ex-NFL exec admits what we knew all along: Protests ended Colin Kaepernick’s career

[MalaCloudy Black]

The Patriots’ Devin McCourty has revealed that at 8 months, he and his wife lost the baby they were expecting, Mia. She was stillborn. 

[Meacon Keaton]

That’s gut wrenching. Such a shame for them and their little girl.  

[Lineker]

That's horrifically sad.

[Lineker]

Quote

MINNEAPOLIS -- A week after George Floyd died while in custody of the Minneapolis Police Department, an incident that sparked mass protests in the Twin Cities and across the nation, two Minnesota Vikings linebackers are speaking out in response to a statement issued by the National Football League.

The league's statement expressed condolences to the Floyd family; Breonna Taylor, who was shot and killed by Louisville Metro Police Department officers in March; and Ahmaud Arbery, whose February death is being investigated as a federal hate crime.

In the statement, the NFL addressed its commitment to using its platform "in communities and as part of the fabric of American society" and that "we embrace that responsibility and are committed to continuing the important work to address these systemic issues together with our players, clubs and partners."

Vikings linebackers Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr, who are on the team's social justice committee, issued identical tweets denouncing the league's stance.

"Your statement said nothing," both tweets read. "Your league is built on black athletes. Vague answers do nothing. Let the players know what you're ACTUALLY doing. And we know what silence means."

The two linebackers went on to issue the same series of four tweets encouraging interaction with fans and others on social media to bring ideas to the table for how the Vikings organization can best support the Twin Cities area after last week's tragic events.

"The Vikings have opened dialogue with players and we're all working towards solutions with the team," they said. "... If anyone has suggestions for how to support the city, we'd love to hear them. Our team doesn't just want to donate -- we want to work with local organizations and get out there to help facilitate change. ... But we want answers at the league level. That's where change can happen, and we've seen none. Because right now, it seems like nothing. And nothing is unacceptable.

"You can't bring in people to teach us how we should interact with police but not work towards changing the behavior of the police themselves. Silence will not make this go away."

The Vikings are discussing methods for how to best support the Twin Cities with cleanup efforts and other charitable causes. Sources told ESPN that tight end Kyle Rudolph and a handful of other players are organizing a food drive that will take place in the Minneapolis area later this week.

Rudolph has also been an active member of the Vikings' social justice committee, which was formed two years ago and aims to provide school supplies and scholarships in low-income communities, work with community organization and juvenile detention centers, provide legal aid and improve relations between law enforcement officers and the areas they serve.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Former Denver Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall, a college teammate and longtime friend of Colin Kaepernick's who kneeled for "The Star-Spangled Banner'' before eight games in the 2016 season to protest excessive use of force by police and social injustice, said he hopes people are now ready for what his and Kaepernick's message was almost four years ago.

"Back then, we were called rogues, people said that we didn't deserve jobs, but this is what we were talking about then,'' Marshall said Monday. "I think people are looking at [Kaepernick] now like, 'OK, maybe he knew.' People didn't want to hear the message after, 'Oh, they were kneeling.' They didn't want that message, weren't ready for it, didn't listen.

"I hope, and I look at it, I hope people are ready for the message. I really hope they're ready for change.''

Marshall said he has spoken to Kaepernick in recent days in the wake of George Floyd's death while in police custody in Minneapolis and the protests that have followed across the country.

"We talked some about what's happened -- and this is why he started the Know Your Rights foundation -- and I asked him if he needed me to do anything or what I could do to help,'' Marshall said. "He said right now, at the moment, he's concentrating on legal assistance for the protesters, but we'll talk more moving forward.''

Marshall, who played six seasons for the Broncos, including in the team's Super Bowl 50 win, lost several endorsements after he kneeled before games during the 2016 season. He also met with Denver Police officials in the weeks that followed about the department's policies on use of force.

He said Monday that "at times you do get tired, weary, of it happening over and over again,'' but he is still hopeful based on what he has seen in protests in Las Vegas, where he is now, and what he has seen across the country.

"That's what brings change -- people coming together, when it's a people thing, not just a black and brown thing,'' Marshall said. "You see people taking to the streets, it's a mixed crowd. It's not just black people. It's everybody. That is what it takes for change. Everybody has to care about it. Back then, not everybody cared about it.

"We need everybody to care about this, not to see it as just a black or brown problem,'' he added. "When people see this as a people problem -- and not a black person's problem or a person of color's problem -- then we can have real change. I look at all of the faces in the real, peaceful protests, and I see maybe we're ready to listen now. Maybe we're ready to see it as a people problem and that real, lasting, effective change can happen.''

NBA legend and longtime social activist Kareem Abdul-Jabbar echoed Marshall's thoughts on Kaepernick with the current landscape in mind.

"There's been a lot of talk of how horrible the rioting and looting is," Abdul-Jabbar said in an interview with Scott Van Pelt on ESPN's SportsCenter. "That is no way to demonstrate, but people should think about the fact that Colin Kaepernick tried to demonstrate peacefully. What did he get? He got ostracized and lost his job. He was blackballed. That was a peaceful protest about an issue that is very real, and no one could acknowledge that.

"We have to get to the point where we take these people seriously and acknowledge the wrongs that they are trying to identify and right them. That's the way that we make progress."

[Lineker]

 

Bugger.

[DMN in the House]

Everything that's happened has really just proven Colin Kaepernick right. He's not perfect, but he was ostracized and, for lack of a better term, black-balled, from the sport for his stances, for his peaceful, respectful protest, yet look where we are now. I believe he's been vindicated.

[gunnar hendershow]

Kaepernick was willing to lose a one-in-a-million career (and millions of dollars) to take a stance. And just a few years later here we are. He's absolutely been vindicated. You want peaceful protest? Well you had that and you tried to destroy the guy's life.

[The Buscher]

Meanwhile, Drew Brees was asked about his thoughts if players chose to kneel for the anthem again this year...and he said he still can’t support it because it disrespects the flag.

Just retire, Captain Stat Pad.

[TCO]

Drew Brees promotes pyramid schemes. I don't anybody should take his opinion on morality as anything but a joke.

[ThrillhouseMAX]

Yeah I saw that. Not really surprising coming from him. If someone thinks the symbol is more important than the reality they can fuck right off. It's paint and fabric. Definitely not more important than American lives. 

[gunnar hendershow]

27 minutes ago, El Tiburon said:

Yeah I saw that. Not really surprising coming from him. If someone thinks the symbol is more important than the reality they can fuck right off. It's paint and fabric. Definitely not more important than American lives. 

"But the TROOOOPPSSS!!" - People who have never been in the military

[livid]

It's always interesting to hear Killer Mike's thoughts on things.

Edited June 3, 2020 by livid

[TCO]

Someone should tell Drew Brees about conscription too. His tiny little millionaire mind will be blown when he finds out that most those young men, who died for his precious piece of fabric were scared boys who were forced to do so.

[The Buscher]

Malcolm Jenkins posted a now deleted video in which he told Brees to shut the fuck up, numerous Saints players have called him out or unfollowed him.

Interested parties:  Jameis Winston, Taysom Hill, Bill Belichick 

[Krabby]

4 hours ago, B-li Manning said:

Meanwhile, Drew Brees was asked about his thoughts if players chose to kneel for the anthem again this year...and he said he still can’t support it because it disrespects the flag.

Just retire, Captain Stat Pad.

"Hi Drew, I have a question, JMarushin for EWB Sports. Does straight up murdering a dude on camera largely due to the color of their skin Honor the flag then?"