As his Wednesday media availability wound down, New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton was asked to describe his reaction to recent events in Kenosha, Wis.
On Sunday, Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, was shot seven times in the back by a Kenosha police officer.
Newton called the shooting, which occurred three months after George Floyd's death at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis, "just disheartening" and stressed the need for athletes to use their platform to raise awareness about social injustice.
"Needless to say, what’s going on in this country of ours at times is extremely disgusting," Newton said. "And until we find a fix, I think more than ever, we have to unify and become one as much as possible. From the Black Lives Matter campaign, from the social injustice, bringing awareness with that, and just everybody becoming more aware of certain things and not necessarily turning their ear or turning their face (away from) things that are extremely blatant.
"It becomes hard being a father. It becomes hard knowing, yeah, what your day job is. But yet, we have to use our platform to raise awareness for issues like this. And while we’re going through so much, from COVID-19, this is an election year with voting and making everybody aware to vote, and having issues that still are pertinent in our society and in our community and still not seeing things done. You just have to stay focused and impact the things you can impact the most.
"So for me, I do try to bring awareness from the environment that I’m into each and every day -- from my children, from having open discussions in the locker room. Not just with all Black players -- with Caucasians, as well, or whatever the race may be. I think that’s the start -- that we all can impact change in our own right."
Newton also paraphrased a quote from Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers, who delivered an emotional reaction to the shooting of Blake after Tuesday night's Clippers-Dallas Mavericks game.
"I read a quote that when you love something so much (but) it doesn’t show you love back," Newton said. "I think it was Doc Rivers who said that. I may have said that wrong."
Rivers' exact words were: "It's amazing why we keep loving this country, and this country does not love us back."
"It's really so sad," the coach added.
Rivers' former team, the Boston Celtics, and the Toronto Raptors reportedly are considering boycotting Game 1 of their NBA playoff series Thursday night in the wake of Blake's shooting.
In Detroit, the Lions canceled practice Tuesday, and several players, including ex-Patriots Duron Harmon and Trey Flowers, spoke out against systemic racism and police brutality.
"The Detroit Lions organization is going to make a stand that what happened to Jacob Blake is not OK, and we're going to speak out on it," Harmon said, via DetroitLions.com.
Thumbnail photo via New England Patriots
