Perhaps it’s damning of current events that a football coach has had the occasion to, in the span of three months, measure the reaction of his players to two different police attacks on unarmed Black men.
But Bears coach Matt Nagy noticed when talking to his team Tuesday about the Jacob Blake shooting by Kenosha, Wisconsin., police, that he had a different view than he did during their Zoom meeting in the wake of George Floyd’s killing.
“You can see the second-by-second head shakes, understanding and agreeing,” said Nagy, who huddled his players after practice to discuss the shooting. “And if somebody wants to talk, they don’t have to hit the spacebar.”
Blake was shot multiple times in the back with his children nearby Sunday night. Halas Hall is only 31 miles south of Kenosha. Blake attended Evanston Township High School, another 22 miles south.
“Being so close to where we are at right now,” Nagy said, “we’re thinking about him and his family and want nothing but the best for him.”
Blake represents another high-profile case, less three months after Floyd was asphyxiated by Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis Police officer who knelt on his neck for eight minutes.
“With all the notoriety and attention that has been given police brutality, you’d think it would slow down a little bit and not still be the main topic every day when you wake up and see it on the news,” running back Tarik Cohen said. “It’s crazy that we still see those same things happening in today’s world. It’s great to be on a team that openly speaks about that.”
The Lions decided to cancel Tuesday’s practice. Instead, their players told the media that football didn’t feel as important as using their platform to speak out.
After the Floyd shooting, the Bears held a two-hour Zoom meeting for 139 players and staff. About 40 spoke. Nagy said then that the conversations spurred “anger … fear … disgust … sadness … compassion, hurt and, even at times … surprise.” Nagy called it the most powerful meeting he’d been a part of.
The Bears spoke then about using their platform to push for change. The challenge stands now, more than ever.
“With our team going through this before, and now being able to understand how do we react to it now and how do we do it together,” Nagy said. ”Just knowing, too, that we are all here to listen. Every one of us is here to listen. And keep that word ‘love.’ Don’t just say that when things are going on. Continue to use that every single day with all of us.”
Left tackle Charles Leno said he wants to work with the Bears’ community relations department to reach out to citizens of Kenosha “because they’re so close to us.” He believes athletes can help spread awareness, compassion and understanding for others.
“And also I just believe police training, too,” he said. “I don’t know how many hours those guys do. But I know we train a lot on the football field. I think they need a little bit more because they’re dealing with lives and they’re handling lives. And every single life is precious.”
Gun violence of any kind must end, cornerback Buster Skrine said.
“And everybody wants it to stop no matter what color you are — black, white, any race,” he said. “Everybody just hopes it gets fixed. You don’t want this to keep snowballing and carrying on for years and years and years.”
Nagy agreed.
“It’s very disturbing for everybody,” Nagy said. “And it has to stop.”
