With all of the strife regarding racial injustice and police brutality, some NFL players are planning to express their right to protest on the field when the football season begins later this year.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell recently stated, “We, the NFL, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest.” One player has already stated he will “definitely be taking a knee” in the spirit of former quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Arizona Cardinals’ quarterback Kyler Murray, the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year, is committed to speaking out in the same way that Kaepernick did while he was still playing in the league, according to NFL.com
forwp-incontent-custom-banner ampforwp-incontent-ad1">“Yeah, I’ll be kneeling. I stand for what’s right. That’s the bottom line,” Murray said to reporters about two weeks ago during a conference call. “I call it like I see it and what’s been going on is completely wrong so yeah I’ll definitely be taking a knee.”
The fight against systemic racism has risen after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last month.
“For me, being a Black man in America, if it’s wrong, I’m going to say it’s wrong. I feel like, personally, it’s on everybody to hold each other accountable,” he said. “But more so for me, if you’re white and you got white friends who feel this certain type of way or don’t understand what’s going on it’s on you to educate them. As well as Black, Hispanic, any other ethnicity if you have any racist friends it’s on you to stop that immediately and let them know why that’s not right or what’s wrong with the way they think.
“Just open their eyes and allow them to understand what’s wrong with their thought process because to be honest we’re all human, and I feel like we should all be treated equally. I don’t get the debate on why everyone should be treated equally because of their skin color; it doesn’t make sense to me but it is what it is right now and we’re trying to fix that.”
“It’s very serious. This is nothing to take lightly. I feel like the world is really trying to make a change right now,” Murray said. “There’s no more straddling the line, there’s no ‘Ahs,’ there’s no more, ‘Buts.’ If it’s right it’s right, if it’s wrong it’s wrong. I feel like everybody is calling people out which is necessary—even in the work realm. All of the great teams that I’ve been a part of, we’re holding each other accountable if somebody is doing something wrong you call them out, you let them know. There’s no hard feelings, it’s all love at the end of the day.
“We’re trying to reach one goal. And I feel like that’s how the world needs to be. All the beating around the bush, it does nothing but cause issues. Like I said I’m for what’s right, and I feel like everybody on the team understands the magnitude of what’s going on in the world. And hopefully, everybody else is starting to. I feel like as a team, I feel like we’re on the same page.”