All eyes will be on the NFL in the coming days to see whether the league follows the NBA’s lead, in canceling additional practices. If the actions and sentiment of one of their top executives is any indication, the league could take a strong indeed.
Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations, broke down into tears during an interview on ESPN radio Thursday morning when speaking of how “proud” he was of NBA players for boycotting their playoff games due to the officer-involved shooting of Jacob Blake.
“This shit is — it’s gotta end,” Vincent said. “I’m so proud of these young boys. These young men and women. They did things I didn’t think about doing. I always walked for the community but during my time we thought we had a handle on it and obviously we didn’t.
“When I saw Doc Rivers and Lebron and George Hill, I think about my three boys and I’m sitting up here every day having about contact tracing and how we’re gonna play ball, and I got a 22-year-old and 20-year-old and a 15-year-old that I’m trying to prevent from being hunted. And they’re teachable moments and I’m trusting my Lord, trusting Him. I’m just proud of what the guys and the women are doing. As we would say, a unified people would always defeat unified money. And I’m just proud. I’m proud.”
The notion of young black men being “hunted,” has become a common one in social justice advocacy. On Tuesday, LeBron James said that the 2nd Amendment made black people feel “hunted.”
Three NFL teams canceled practices on Thursday in protest of Blake’s shooting. The NBA is likely to make a decision on the future of their season, Thursday afternoon.
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn
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