Boldin shares story for social justice
Tragedy inspires former WR to launch work
Players Coalition co-founder Anquan Boldin shared a poignant personal tragedy in the signature public service spot of the NFL’s Inspire Change platform during Sunday’s conference championship games.
In the spot that will run through Super Bowl Sunday, Boldin shares his inspiration to launch social justice work: the 2015 shooting death of his cousin Corey Jones, 31, at the hands of a plainclothes police officer after his car had broken down on Interstate 95 in Florida.
A jury in West Palm Beach last year found ex-police officer Nouman Raja guilty of armed manslaughter and attempted first-degree murder in the death of Jones.
Prosecutors said Raja never identified himself to the stranded motorist as a police officer when he arrived in an unmarked white van with tinted windows and approached him while wearing plain clothes and a baseball cap.
Raja was on duty doing burglary surveillance when he shot Jones several times in the encounter caught on audio.
“There are just some things that are bigger than football, and I felt like starting the Players Coalition and affecting change in this country was one of those things,” Boldin says in the 60-second spot, which debuted during the AFC championship game between the Titans and Chiefs.
“Had it not been for the work that we do, Corey’s death would have been in vain,” Boldin says in the PSA, concluding, “The best way to inspire change is to be it.”
The league launched the initiative, which emphasizes education and economic development, community and police relations and criminal justice reform, in 2018 in connection with its 32 teams and the Players Coalition, a group of current and former players that works for social justice.
The league and the players had established a working relationship in October 2017 following player demonstrations for social justice during the national anthem.
“We are aware of the challenges we’ve faced over the last few years. The issues that NFL players brought to the forefront do not only impact players. These are American issues that affect us all,” said Anna Isaacson, the NFL’s senior vice president of social responsibility.
“The NFL is fortunate to have an incredible platform and with this platform, we have the opportunity to help create positive change and work toward social justice for all of our communities. We’re amplifying and supporting the work that players have started — this is what Inspire Change exists to do.”
The NFL has been running player PSAs during the playoffs and earlier this month awarded $3 million in grants to grassroots organizations, bringing to $25 million it has awarded to social justice groups since the campaign’s launch.
Isaacson called Boldin’s PSA a “signature spot we hope will really bring clarity to what social justice is and how committed NFL players are to these issues.
“This is a personal and family tragedy, but the spot is really about what came from that tragedy and that’s all this great work on social justice.”
BRADY: Tom Brady to the Las Vegas
Raiders?
Brady was in Sin City Saturday night to attend UFC 246, in which Conor McGregor overwhelmed New Mexico resident Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.
Many started to question Brady’s interest in the Raiders and/or vice versa.
“I’m open-minded about the process,” Brady said in his weekly interview with Westwood One radio on Sunday, when also asked whether he’d be willing to play elsewhere. “At the same time, I love playing football and I want to continue to play and do a great job. I’m looking forward to what’s ahead. Whatever the future may bring, I’ll embrace it with open arms.”
On Sunday morning, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports kept the ball in the air, reporting that sources have said Brady is interested in testing the free agent waters.
“It would be extremely surprising if Brady were to agree to any new pact with the Patriots prior to the start of free agency in March I’m told,” La Canfora wrote, “and while his process could still result in a return to New England it is far from certain at this point.”
RIVERS: Philip Rivers has moved “permanently” from San Diego to Florida to be closer to his family, the free-agent quarterback texted to ESPN on Sunday morning.
“What this means football-wise is to be determined but it was time for us to move back closer to home,” Rivers said in the text, reported Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen.
While Rivers had said many times he planned to move to or near the Alabama town where he and wife Tiffany grew up after he retired from the NFL, the move now will uproot his nine children, the oldest of which is beginning college this year.
Seemingly, the move reduces the chances that Rivers, 38, will return to the Chargers if he decides to resume his NFL career in 2020.
The Chargers are the only NFL team to employ Rivers, an eight-time Pro Bowler, since former General Manager A.J. Smith obtained him in a draft-day trade in 2004.
He hasn’t missed a start since taking over for Drew Brees, the Hall of Famebound, John Butler-draftee who left to sign with the New Orleans Saints in March 2006.