Bengals hold emotional team meeting about racial injustice
The Bengals held an emotional team meeting about racial injustice in America according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com.
Protests and calls for equality have continued since George Floyd's death on May 25.
"We had a meeting airing it all out," safety Shawn Williams said."The raw, uncut truth of feelings. 'How's it make you feel? How are you dealing with it and what changes have to be made going forward?'
"It was very open. To hear people express the way they're feeling, it was hard. But it's what's needed. Guys are angry. Guys are scared. A different range of emotions. Things got tense, but for the right reasons. This stuff is emotional. You can't have this conversation without emotion."
It's a conversation that a lot of Americans have had in recent weeks. Hobson notes that the Bengals broke into groups of 25 and that players and coaches — both black and white — were involved in the discussion.
"I feel like it was a great conversation," second-year guard Michael Jordan said. "The eye-opening thing was everybody's willingness to see that there's a problem and trying to figure out ways how to solve it.
"If black people could have solved racism, it would have been done by now, so I feel like we need white people or people in power or policemen to vocalize our opinions and scream them to everybody. You can't just have black people screaming. You have to have everybody screaming."
The Bengals pledged $250,000 to community initiatives on June 6. Owner Mike Brown wants players, coaches and other members of the organization to decide where the money should go.
Players on the roster have been outspoken about social and racial injustice in America. Joe Burrow, Khalid Kareem, Logan Wilson and Auden Tate have commented publicly on the topic.
It's encouraging to hear players of different races and different backgrounds understand that changes need to be made. That understanding will help make the world and the Bengals' locker room a better place.
"As black men we're not used to expressing ourselves or telling someone that's not the same race as you how you feel," Williams said. "Getting it off our chest but doing it the right way so they kind of feel your pain. Why you make the decisions you make or look the way you look because where you come from. It sheds light on what it means to a be a black man in America. Now they can't relate to it, but they can say, 'I can be your brother. I respect it,' and they're with you."
