Russell Wilson Was Prepared to Strike After The Jacob Blake Shooting
The continued social issues in the United States have significantly impacted the sports world. That has seen many of the professional leagues take action in calling for change. Those efforts have ramped up another notch after the Jacob Blake shooting last weekend. With that in mind, Seattle Seahawks star quarterback Russell Wilson has made a revealing statement regarding how that situation could impact the NFL.
Sports world responds to the Jacob Blake shooting
Another disappointing social issue has rocked the United States after the near-fatal shooting of Jacob Blake.
It has resulted in a strong response from the sports world, with the NBA players leading the charge by nearly canceling their playoffs. That created a chain reaction with the WNBA, MLB, and MLS electing not to play games. The NFL may not have started their 2020 season, but the league saw several of their teams elect to cancel practices on Thursday and Friday.
Those collective actions have increased the push for social change to stop the Black community’s continued injustices in the United States. The NFL has taken a unique approach to the matter with the start of their regular season still a couple of weeks away. With that in mind, star quarterback Russell Wilson has made an interesting comment concerning the league.
Russell Wilson says the Seahawks wouldn’t have played this week
Unlike many of the other professional sports leagues in the United States, the NFL hasn’t started their 2020 season. That has seen several players such as New York Giants star running back Saquon Barkley voice their strong sentiment toward social injustice.
With that in mind, Russell Wilson has stated that if there had been games this week, he believes the Seahawks would not have played due to the Jacob Blake shooting, according to Brady Henderson of ESPN.
“Yeah, for sure. I think just witnessing what happened to Jacob and everything else and all the things have have added up to this, it’s devastating. It’s truly devastating just to watch that. This isn’t like this hasn’t been doing on for years. That’s the scary part and sad part. The difference now is we get to see it every day because of social media and phones and everything else.
Wilson continued: “I think the world is truly seeing the ugliness of society at times, and I think what’s really disappointing is just knowing that as we athletes try to make a difference and sometimes people don’t want to listen and don’t want to recognize that that could have been us, that could be us.”
Wilson also noted that the Seahawks would discuss what they can do next while calling for a collective effort to help create change. That also includes the demand for the media to aid the push in making a difference.
The NFL must respond to latest social injustice
Russell Wilson is among the powerful statements from several prominent NFL players.
Kansas City Chiefs’ star quarterback Patrick Mahomes also voiced that he won’t stop fighting for equality for all regardless of the negative pushback. These comments put the onus on the NFL to back their players and help further their impact in making a difference.
The message is quite clear regarding what the players want to see from the league to help end social injustice. The NFL has committed to $250 million over the next 10 years to aid in ending systemic racism. The league must listen to their players’ concerns during this pivotal time in the country and act accordingly.
