NFL players push lawmakers on justice reform

WASHINGTON — Malcolm Jenkins of the Philadelphia Eagles, free-agent wide receiver Anquan Boldin and other players were meeting with members of Congress this week to push for legislation that leads to improved relationships between minority communities and local police.

Their latest outreach follows the racially charged rhetoric of the 2016 election, during which then-Republican nominee Donald Trump won fewer than 1 out of 10 black voters. Overcoming

hot-button terms like “stop and frisk” and getting Republicans and Democrats to find common ground is a tall order, but one the players said they intend to tackle.

This is the second trip to Washington in the last five months for Jenkins and Boldin.

“Football is easier than doing this,” Jenkins said Tuesday in an interview with The Associated Press. “You’ve got to do the research, and you’ve got to come prepared. And when you’re speaking on behalf of other people, you want to make sure you bring the right voice to the table.”

At the top of the players’ list is putting an end to private prisons and doing away with mandatory

minimum prison sentences that can put nonviolent offenders behind bars for lengthy terms. Jenkins and Boldin said there is too much focus on law-and-order solutions and not enough on preventing crimes before they happen.

Boldin, who played for the Detroit Lions last season, said private prisons are a “huge problem” because the companies that operate them are often contractually assured a certain amount of inmate capacity. That can lead to an emphasis on incarceration.

“We feel like that’s one of the things that leads to quotas by police officers,” Boldin said.