Eagles meeting to discuss social justice
PHILADELPHIA » The Eagles’ social justice committee meets Friday to discuss how the players will express themselves in the season opener and beyond in the wake of the controversial deaths of African-Americans George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and the shooting of Jacob Blake.
Committee chair Rodney McLeod said the Eagles could collectively kneel for the national anthem, raise fists or something totally out of the box.
The social justice committee was formed two years ago through the players with the blessing of the NFL. McLeod said the current committee includes among others, Malik Jackson, Carson Wentz, DeSean Jackson, Zach Ertz, Jake Elliott, Avonte Maddox and Will Parks.
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, general manager Howie Roseman, his assistant Connor Barwin, also will be part of the discussion Friday.
“We’ll all sit down and talk about a lot of issues that we want to address moving forward surrounding the country, how we want to show our support in this season,” McLeod said Wednesday. “A lot of those topics will be addressed. So, I’m sure we’ll figure out something moving forward.”
Floyd and Taylor died at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis and Louisville, respectively. Blake was shot in the back by a police officer in Kenosha, Wis. Guilt hasn’t been established in any of those cases.
The Detroit Lions cancelled their Tuesday practice as a form of protest to the shooting of Blake, who was shot Sunday night. Head coach Matt Patricia joined the players.
McLeod said the Eagles will talk about that development and how they should make their statement Friday.
“That was a tragic situation,” McLeod said. “It was good to see the Lions step out and be on the front lines in bringing some awareness to what recently occurred.”
Eagles head coach Doug Pederson called the Lions’ demonstration “a great sign of unity, a sign of strength and support as a team, obviously, in these tragic situations.
“Our team continues conversation and dialogue,” Pederson said. “That’s something that we’re going to continue to do. It’s something we’ve agreed to do and continue to talk with our players quite a bit about. You know, again, it’s just where we are as a country. You’ve got to put football aside. This is human life and this is about all our lives.”
McLeod said the Eagles’ social justice committee had its first meeting a few months ago after the death of Floyd. Some of the Eagles participated in the Philly demonstration for social injustice, including McLeod. That sparked activism throughout the roster.
“It went extremely well,” McLeod of the committee’s first get-together of the year. “This is a follow-up meeting to really figure out what’s our stance and how we want to stand together as a team moving forward as it is a hot topic right now.”
McLeod, Malcolm Jenkins, Chris Long and Nelson Agholor were on the original social justice committee.
McLeod recruited help after those players exited the Eagles. The Floyd and Taylor deaths clearly resonated with the Eagles.
“It’s good to be able to have open dialogue with a lot of these guys all coming from different backgrounds,” McLeod said. “We’re all putting our heads together to represent our team the best way that we can and to use our voices in the right way.”