(Opening statement) “I guess I would first like to say that today, today was unique. You know, the team coming together to make this kind of statement. Some might not think it’s a big deal, some might think that it’s lip service, but I don’t see it as that. You know, being in the locker rooms for the past 15 years of my life and seeing guys recognize a problem and be willing to say, ‘Hey, I don’t know the details, I don’t know what it’s like, but I will stand with you.’ [That] is a big deal. So, I don’t think that you can quantify this in just some words that have been said and walking down a street. I think it means more than that. It means more to that in our locker room, and hopefully it will mean more than that to the city, because I meant what is said, I am in this for the long haul. You know I just got here in Jacksonville, but the way that people have come around me in the short time that I have been here, the friends that I have made, the stories that I’ve heard, have really challenged me. Like I said to last week, to learn more, to know more, to grow more myself, so I would challenge everyone out there — white, black, purple, everything — to learn more about this history, because there is a reason that these things happen. Without knowing that history, it will continue to repeat itself.”
(On the impact today’s event has on the professional sports community, the City of Jacksonville and what the community learned about the Jaguars) “I think that the community can learn that the Jaguars can get behind each other. You know the past couple of days have showed that, even in our locker rooms, though they have beentouted as places that there is no racism, that there is complete unity, but that’s just not true. Being able to admit that we can grow is a hallmark of change and I think that needs to happen in locker rooms, as well. I don’t know the effect that this will have on the community, but I know that it will have an effect on the locker room. I know I can look at guys who were here today, I can look at them in the eyes and say, ‘Thank you. Thank you for listening. Thank you for wanting to know more,’ and I think that in it of itself makes an impact in our locker room and in this building.”
(On today’s event and if it should include the community in the future) “Yes, I think it does start the conversation. Also, this was, this was, you know as Coach Marrone said, this was put together very last minute. You know, we had guys who were driving into town from all over the place early this morning to be here. I don’t think there was any way we were trying to exclude the city, but we were trying to stand behind people in the locker room and that work in this building, and we were trying to speak internally and really listen to each other. The voice of the oppressed is not limited to this building, so I understand that people would be asking us to involve the city, but you know it was not malicious. It was not malicious by us and who knows in the future, we might do something of the same nature with the city.”
(On the virtual team conversations this week and whether they were focused more on football or this) “It was a little bit of both. You know, on Monday we had a lot of conversations that were, that were relational. You know it was about experiences, it was about education, it was about frustration, it was about empathy and there was a wide range of conversations that went on on Monday. On Tuesday, we had meetings, we talked football, but then it came back to the relational conversations, and all of that is good. That is good for a team. The fact that our coaches let that happen and didn’t decide to pull things back and say, ‘Oh, okay, let’s get back,’ that speaks volumes, that speaks volumes.”
(On if he is repaired for backlash and how he is prepared to respond) “I think that, that is a fantastic question. You know the longer that I’ve been in the league, back in 2016, I had just gotten into the league, I had a lot of fears about what the people in the city would think, about the effects ofunrest and protests and fortunately over time I have gotten to a place where I don’t care about those things. That is the reason guys push me towards the front because they know I will say what they are thinking, and that shouldn’t be the case in this league. You shouldn’t be afraid of speaking up and standing for what you believe in. LeBron James stepping out and saying, ‘No, I won’t shut up and dribble,’ is a huge deal. Because that emboldens other people to say, ‘If he can do it, I can do it.’ So, this time around, you know, people won’t fall for that again. I think there will be backlash. I think people will try and hijack the narrative and take it back to the military. You know, everybody wants to say, ‘Well, my grandfather fought in this war.’ Well, my grandfather fought, too. My dad gave twenty years of his life to this country, plenty of people did. You can’t change the narrative to something because it is convenient to you to stay on top of it. That is how I think we will respond.”
(On if this event will impact the team moving forward) “I think it grows people together. Relationships are, that is how humans are built. We are built to be relational. To know people, to grow to love them, and I think that this brings people closer together. Obviously, the football season is moving ahead of us and we are excited about it, but that is not the most important thing in life. Football is always a means to an end, for everybody. It is an entertainment for people, people want it to be their all in all, but unfortunately for me it is not. Fortunately for me, it is not. So, for a lot of people here, football is a phase and they will go on to live their lives and this is something that can have a lasting impact. I think that we have grown closer together and we will continue to grow closer together as we have these conversations. The more we get to know each other the more we can grow to love somebody.”
(On the advice he would give to collegiate athletes during this time) “Educate yourself. Educate yourself. You could be a history maker, and these could be the things that you are learning in your classes. Or you could be like me, be a Journalism Major, and just take the basic History 101 and you are out. Take the time, to educate yourself, learn this country’s history, learn the city’s history. I took a crash course last night on Jacksonville civil rights history. Learned a lot. Learned a lot, you can still see the effects of some of the things that happened here downtown today if you walk around. That is what we need, that’s what we need to know. If we are going to move forward, you have to know your history. So, learn your history first, and then, second, take action. Get out there and vote. Get out there and really look at what these candidates are saying. See if they stand by it. Do not look partially, look at their policies and then go out there and take action. Stand by what you believe in.”
(On the NFL’s role in this movement) “We can’t, we can’t tell the league to do anything for us. We can encourage players to speak up. We can say that you shouldn’t, you shouldn’t criminalize those players for speaking up. You know, I do not now the affect that this will have on the league. We did not do this for the league. We did this for Jacksonville. We did this for this team. I do hope that is does encourage somebody to say, ‘You know what, I am not going to be quiet anymore.’ I hope that it does encourage people to say, ‘You know what, I may not understand but I am going to struggle, I am going to struggle, I am going to struggle with what this is and what is going on because by struggling I am growing.’”
