RENTON, Wash .– Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll delivered a heated monologue at his press conference on Saturday, speaking for more than 14 minutes about the need for whites to gain a better understanding of racism in America.
“They don’t know enough, and they need to be trained and they need to be educated about what’s going on in this world,” Carroll said.
The Seahawks decided not to practice on Saturday after a long team meeting. Carroll hadn’t planned on speaking to reporters, but did so after a last-minute change in the team’s media availability. He started by saying hello to Jackie Robinson Day and saying that he wanted to talk about “some things that were close to my heart.”
“Black people can’t scream anymore,” Carroll said, “they can’t walk anymore, they can’t put their soul in the place of what they’ve lived with for hundreds of years because whites have come to ‘Europe and started a new country with a big idea and big ideals and wrote some big writings and laws and all that, about democracy and freedom and equality for all, and … it’s not which happened because we took this other route here.
“We followed the economy and the rich white people making money, and they set up [a] system of slavery, and we never really left it. He never left. The really amazing thing that I have learned is that black people know the truth. They know exactly what’s going on. It’s the whites who don’t know. And it’s not that they don’t tell us. They told us. We know what is right and what is wrong. We just weren’t open to listening to it. “
Carroll called on coaches at all levels to lead the charge, as their positions give them so much influence.
“So coaches, I’m calling you,” he said. “Let’s step up. No more silence, no more fear of talking about topics, no more “I’m a little uncomfortable, I might lose my job because of this because I’ve taken a stand here or there.” We can’t anymore. do that. Maybe if we do, we can be a leadership group that stands out, and maybe others will follow. But it’s not just for coaches. I just know I might have a better ear to listen to myself when I talk to coaches. “
Carroll did not respond to questions from reporters. His comments come during a historic week in US professional sports in which teams protested Jacob Blake’s police shooting by refusing to play games or train. Quarterback Russell Wilson told 710 ESPN Seattle on Friday that the Seahawks would have joined other teams by not playing if they had had a game this week.
Jamal Adams, who was traded to the Jets Seahawks last month, thanked Carroll and the organization in a tweet saturday to “really hear us as black athletes”.
“It’s a special place, as I said before, where everyone is ready to learn and understand that evil is evil and good is right,” Adams wrote.
Carroll said that with the increased dominance of the media compared to decades ago, “everyone has a voice, and we all see the truth about how black people are treated on our streets. Really, l law enforcement is a huge problem for our guys because they are afraid for their life. They are afraid for the lives of their loved ones and their children. They are afraid because they don’t know what is going to happen [happen] because of what we keep seeing. “
While speaking of tangible actions to create the change, Carroll said all Seahawks players will be officially registered to vote starting Saturday. He called it “a start”.
Seahawks safety Quandre Diggs, 27, said on Friday he had registered to vote this year for the first time in his life.
Carroll stressed the importance of listening to black athletes.
“There is no doubt what happened,” he said. “They live from fear to death. And it was never OK; just now that we see so clearly what’s going on, we have to stop it now. Hope someone is listening, because we have to create change and we have to be change to make it happen. Coaches, let us be the ones. Lead in your communities. We are in communities across the country, we are everywhere in all sports. Listen to me. Let’s go. Let’s go. “
.
