NFL Teams Cancel Practice In Wake Of Jacob Blake Shooting

In what became a national boycott of sports on Wednesday, spurred on by the Milwaukee Bucks’ boycotting game five of their first-round series against the Orlando Magic, many NFL teams decided to cancel practices for the day on Thursday to show solidarity with the NBA and as their own form of protest. These protests are over the shooting of Jacob Blake, an unarmed black man, by police earlier this week. This comes just a few months after the George Floyd murder, which sent the nation into an uproar.

Many coaches also made statements including Detroit Lions coach Matt Patricia. “If there’s any chance that maybe we got everybody to stop and think for a minute, that’s really great,” Patricia said of the being the first professional team to protest Tuesday by canceling practice. “And I think we have a simple saying, which is just listen. And right now, that’s just what we want everyone to do, is listen. We understand that this is not a sprint. It’s not a race. It’s a marathon and it’s something that we just have to do a good job of continuing this conversation.”

After practice on Wednesday, Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy told reporters that he spoke to his players about the importance of protesting. “I have to be honest, it’s hard to sit here and to think I have to talk about football today, especially with everything that’s going on in our country,” said McCarthy, whose family lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin. “I’ve spent the evening, last night, listening and watching, everything that’s going on in the NBA, the WNBA, the MLB and across our league. These are unprecedented times in our country. Spent a lot of time on the phone the last couple of evenings. It’s definitely concerning. Having friends and family back there [in Wisconsin]. These times are unprecedented. Things need to change. I grew up in a home of public safety, but I mean, I just don’t understand why it keeps happening and I think I’m like everyone else. I don’t have the answers, but things need to change.”