Peaceful protests over racial justice are entering their third week in the United States, and several local athletes have spoken up to promote peace, kindness and hope in the weeks after George Floyd’s death.
Ben Watson is the latest local athlete to lend his voice to the cause. The former New England Patriots tight end helped organize a gathering called “Boston Pray,” aimed at promoting spiritual change following Floyd’s death in Minneapolis on May 25.
More than 1,000 people attended the event Sunday afternoon at Boston Common, where Watson spoke about fairness for all.
“Whether it’s your experience or not, treating people with the kindness that you would want to receive … justice,” Watson said, via WBZ-TV’s Paul Burton. “… Now, we talk about that word a lot, right? Justice simply means giving people their just due, whether that’s protection or whether it’s punishment. Justice is like equity. It should be blind.
“We’re here because we want justice. What we’ve seen has made us upset and rightly so.”
Former NE Patriot Ben Watson speaks at the Boston Common for Boston Pray #wbz pic.twitter.com/6nmyVcPBpe
— Paul Burton (@PaulWBZ) June 14, 2020
Watson later explained why he put the event together.
“What is always needed is a spiritual change. That’s at the heart of everything,” Watson said, via WBZ-TV. “Racism is sin. The idea is to get believers and non-believers to come together and pray and seek God’s face in terms of our next steps.”
Pats linebacker Ja’ Whaun Bentley took part in the event, as well.
“Be a voice for the voiceless speak as loud as we can and make our voices heard. We are with you and understand it,” Bentley said.
Powerful stuff.
