Tough topics no cause for alarm for Seahawks
OLYMPIA, WASH. The morning after his trick-play touchdown pass busted open the Seattle Seahawks’ latest win, Doug Baldwin suited up as Concerned Citizen No. 13 to address a legislative task force on the use of deadly force by police.
The son of a retired police officer, Baldwin called for a nationwide review of police policies and training in September. He saw a contentious presidential election as evidence of a divide in what people want for the future of this country but also another sign he needed to be here, advancing dialogue on difficult issues and participating in the processes that can impact real change.
“Colin Kaepernick taking a knee disrupted the football game and sparked the conversation,” Baldwin told USA TODAY Sports
before walking across the street to meet with the governor. “But what you just saw was disrupting the law — disrupting the status quo.”
If the Seahawks continue their latest second-half surge against this backdrop, it might be the greatest manifestation of coach Pete Carroll’s belief in mindfulness — and a pointed shot to the notion that politics, activism and other non-football “distractions” are a recipe for NFL ruin.
This is a team with stars including Baldwin, Richard Sherman and Michael Bennett committing media sessions to racial injustice (among other topics, such as NFL hypocrisy and Commissioner Roger Goodell’s power). Players have used portions of team meetings to debate their own demonstrations in light of Kaepernick’s protests during the national anthem.
There’s “a little bit of monologuing every day” on something topical, Carroll said, and he encourages the tougher discussions to take place if that’s what the team wants — on social issues, on politics, whatever players might need to get off their chests.
“We spend a lot of time talking about race and trying to understand how to further our relationships here and try to go to places that you don’t go to typically and try to get beyond,” Carroll said. “Black Lives Matter conversation went deep, and that was really important that we made space for people to feel like they needed to feel about it.”
Carroll isn’t going to forecast the downfall of America like Gregg Popovich or detail his thoughts on President-elect Donald Trump. “Either way it went, it was going to be a really uncomfortable time,” Carroll said. “It’s not the result. It’s the factor that we have to be open to make it work as best we can.”
Which is why Carroll wants everyone to talk, rather than harboring feelings that could cause problems later. Sociologist Harry Edwards addressed the team and provided guidelines, including “giving a brother slack,” rather than jumping on somebody who says the wrong thing, Carroll said.
Not every NFL coach is so comfortable with this stuff.
“But our philosophy is that if you can celebrate the individual and you can expand your mind to things other than football, it’s going to enhance your performance on the field,” Baldwin said. “When you have a more holistic view on the world and of yourself, then the ability for you to become who you truly are and reveal your true potential becomes a lot easier.”
It extends beyond meetings, too. People say you can’t walk into the sauna or the cafeteria or just about anyplace else at the Seahawks facility without hearing the conversations continuing. “We disagree about things all the time,” Baldwin said, yet he believes the respect built into the discussions helps to bring them together.
Players created a “Building Bridges” task force to meet with local law enforcement and politicians. Baldwin has spoken with the state attorney general and on Monday joined others asking legislators to alter state law that protects police officers from prosecution for using deadly force, saying it would be a step to “repair and heal the much-needed relationship” with communities. (The legislative task force recommended the change.)
The Seahawks have locked arms during the national anthem, including before last week’s win against the Philadelphia Eagles — “a very powerful statement” Carroll believes others should embrace.
“If there was ever a time that this country needs to stand together and lock arms, this is it,” Carroll said. “Stand up. Standing up for it is significant. Stand up for what you believe in.”
Perhaps it’s no coincidence that the NFL’s most outspoken team upset the New England Patriots five days after the election and looks like a Super Bowl contender again.
“We are humans. We’re not robots. We do have opinions,” said Baldwin, adding that he foresees real changes coming, provided communication continues.
“If we can continue to have that conversation and look at things with an unbiased eye and have the conversations openly, vulnerably and freely,” he said, “then hopefully we can start to narrow that divide and come together more, not only as a state and as a community, but a country.”