'You Gotta Put Football Aside': Eagles' Social Justice Committee Discussing Response To Shooting Of Jacob Blake
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- When police murdered George Floyd in Minnesota in May, the sports world was on hiatus. Unfortunately, incidents like that continue to happen. The latest tragedy comes with athletes on the clock.
On Monday, the Detroit Lions made the NFL's strongest statement yet to protest the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
Today, the sports world continues to have dialogue following the incident, and that includes the Philadelphia Eagles.
On Sunday, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, 29-year-old Jacob Blake was shot in the back seven times by local police following a call for a domestic incident.
After days of protests, the Lions canceled their practice yesterday in a show of solidarity. Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers also made an impassioned plea for the shootings to stop
Today, Eagles head coach Doug Pederson discussed the shooting, and the conversation surrounding it, from his perspective.
"It's just where we are as a country and you gotta put football aside. This is human life and this is about all of our lives. These guys, they have a message, they have a platform, they have something that needs to be said and so I'm here obviously to listen, to listen to their ideas and their comments and the things that they're dealing with every single day," Pederson said.
Safety Rodney McLeod says he was happy to see the Lions take a stand in the way they did. He said the Eagles will be discussing that issue, and more, this week.
"We do have a meeting this upcoming Friday, Social Justice Committee meeting, where we'll all sit down and talk about a lot of issues that we want to address moving forward, surrounding the country, how we want to show our support this season. And so a lot of those topics will be addressed," McLeod said,
Wednesday night's NBA playoff games were postponed after players choose to boycott the games in the wake of the shooting.
