Getty The Vikings postponed interviews to hold a team discussion surrounding practice and social justice.
Professional sports organizations across the country have joined in a national boycott from league activities following the Milwaukee Bucks wildcat strike.
Nine NFL teams did not practice on Thursday in solidarity with NBA players who are pushing for more social justice reform following the police shooting of Wisconsin man Jacob Blake. NBA, WNBA, MLB and MLS athletes chose not to play in their games since Wednesday afternoon.
Speculation loomed on whether the Vikings would join in the protest after the morning coaches and player press conferences were postponed just hours after protests in Minneapolis reignited Wednesday night.
The Vikings held a long “emotional” two-hour meeting Thursday morning and decided to take the practice field.
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Vikings ‘Want to Make Change,’ Not ‘Shock Value’
Coach Mike Zimmer spoke with the press after practice with co-defensive coordinator Andre Patterson. Zimmer said that in the meeting, ran by players, that there wasn’t much discussion about not practicing.
“We don’t want to have shock value for 24 hours. We want to institute some change,” Zimmer said.
Zimmer added that many players expressed themselves and their thoughts on issues surrounding voting, lower-income families and opportunity gaps, which was “more important than sending people home.” Patterson said that Vikings players’ vision was bigger than just one day of missing practice.
Patterson used his and Zimmer’s relationship and different experiences as an example of the conversations in the political climate that need to happen “in order to make change happen.”
‘I’d Take a Bullet For Zim’
TwitterCoaches Mike Zimmer and Andre Patterson shared the nature of their relationship and a candid moment.
Zimmer admitted he’s changed in the past three months following the killing of Minneapolis man George Floyd and the ensuing protests and activism that’s followed.
“I think the biggest this is learning what stories the players have told about things that have happened (to them) in the past,” Zimmer said.
Zimmer mentioned that he’s heard three accounts where Patterson, a Black man, was stopped by police and had a gun pulled on him. He was let go each time.
“The two of us can have candid conversations, Patterson said of Zimmer. “We may not agree… but the beauty of the relationship is that each one of us are willing to listen to the other and gain knowledge — whether I turn around and agree how Zim sees it or not — at least I understand where he’s coming from.”
“It’s a great experience for our players to see how the two of us interact,” Patterson added. “The players on our team know that I would take a bullet for Zim.”
“We’re not gonna let you take a bullet,” Zimmer replied as both coaches broke into small chuckles.
Eric Kendricks & Kirk Cousins Address Difficult Conversations
Vikings leaders Eric Kendricks and Kirk Cousins were available after practice to speak upon meeting with their teammates earlier in the day.
Kendricks addressed the protests and looting that happened Wednesday night in Minneapolis and turned to the mounting civil unrest.
“There’s unrest right now,” he said. “I don’t have all the right answers but we need to start listening to each other and going after these things that are making this happen.”
The locker room has been a conductor of conversation, Kendricks added.
“We’re in a situation where we’re in a locker room so those barriers do get broken down, but that’s not to say it’s easy.”
Cousins had a similar experience to Zimmer’s over the past few months.
“Most of the last few months has been about being a good listener, a good question asker,” Cousins said. “I’ve asked some teammates including Eric their background, their experiences — they’ve had first-hand experiences which is why it can hit so close to home.”
“We talk about how we try to build a team during training camp, I don’t know of a more constructive activity to build a team and a locker room and create team chemistry than the time we spent this morning. There was tremendous value in it for a lot of different reasons,” he added.
While the Vikings social justice committee is drafting how they’ll allocate funds from the Wilf family’s $5 million donation to social justice programs, the team is looking forward to solutions both on and off the field.
“Winning football games could have a powerful effect to just create unity in our city when there’s been a lot of division,” Cousins said.
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Trevor Squire is a Heavy contributor covering the Minnesota Vikings and journalism graduate from the University of Minnesota — Twin Cities. Connect with him on Twitter @trevordsquire and join our Vikings community at Heavy on Vikings on Facebook.