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The Detroit Lions’ emotional decision to cancel practice on Tuesday and speak out regarding the shooting of Jacob Blake has drawn plenty of commentary across the internet.
NFL Hall of Famer and media member Gil Brandt had his own opinion to share. As he said, he was proud of Matt Patricia and the Lions for making the move to cancel practice and taking a stand because of the powerful signal it sent to the country at large.
Brandt was far from the first to credit the Lions for their response, but his reaction as a respected member of the NFL community is certainly carrying extra weight in this case. His response is to be commended, and certainly, the hope is his positive words do resonate with the world at large.
Dan Orlovsky Praises Lions Protest
In the aftermath of the team sitting out practice on Tuesday to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake, ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky explained that the team’s reaction was something which made him proud to be associated with the team.
The reason the move could be smart for the Lions? Not only from a social standpoint and being on the right side of history, but a team standpoint as well. As Orlovsky explained on ESPN, the team is taking on the look of a squad which is closer than ever and has each others’s backs.
He said:
“The reality is, I can’t or I don’t want to play hard with you or for you as a football player if I don’t know you care about me. I think this is a perfect example of those players caring about each other even though they may not experience it in the same way. You can’t say we will do something and the opportunity presents itself and you don’t. I played for the Lions for 7 years. I’ve never been more proud to be a part of the Lions organization than I am today, so kudos to everyone there.”
Orlovsky’s perspective is important given he was in an NFL locker room for a long time and has a good perspective on what makes teams tick. It will be fascinating to see what happens to the Lions this season and how this camaraderie impacts the season on the field.
Matthew Stafford Proud of Lions
Speaking after the team had their demonstration in front of the facility, Matthew Stafford also said that he has never been more proud to be a member of the team than in this moment, echoing the sentiments of Orlovsky.
Stafford explained and lauded his coach in the process:
“Probably never more of an offseason and a day today that I’ve been proud to be a part of this team and do what I do. It’s an incredible group of guys that we have in this locker room led by a coach who is unwavering in his ability to give us space to talk. I’ve talked about it all offseason. On our Zoom calls it was incredible, what an incredible offseason we had with conversations about everything that’s going on in America at the moment. We had another one (Tuesday) and spent all morning talking about it. You gotta give a ton of credit to coach for allowing us to do this. Incredible, incredible guys on this team. Never been more proud to be a part of it. Just to be somebody there to help and listen.”
Stafford has been touched in a huge way by the experiences of his teammates, and recently launched his own social justice initiative at the University of Georgia. For Stafford, it’s all about doing the right thing and he sees a team and staff that are doing that right now.
Lions Cancelled Tuesday Practice
Tuesday morning, the Lions were going to practice as usual, but things ended up being delayed. In the end, it was not business as usual. The team ended up canceling practice as a result of the Jacob Blake shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin after a passionate team meeting on the subject.
Here’s the video of the team coming out together to speak, and revealing the message of “We can’t go on” and “We won’t be silent.” The sentiments were scrawled on a couple of dry erase boards that were wheeled out.
During the event, several players spoke including Duron Harmon, Trey Flowers and Taylor Decker. The consensus? The Lions want to win football games, but they also want to contribute to changing the world for the better.
https://twitter.com/mikerothstein/status/1298312287896338435
Speaking passionately, Duron Harmon, Trey Flowers and Taylor Decker shared their vision and explained it’s on teams to have a unified approach and the Lions want to be the team moving the conversation forward in order to help make change in America.
Blake was shot multiple times by the police after an incident in Wisconsin over the weekend, and as of now it has been revealed by his father that he is paralyzed from the waist down currently. This incident will be the one the Lions try to galvanize around in order to send the message that the world must change.
Brandt certainly would agree with that decision.
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