LeSean McCoy on Police Shooting of Jacob Blake: 'What Didn't You Learn from the Last Case?'
Much of the sports world came to a halt yet again Wednesday, but not because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
No, this time it was another global and nationwide problem plaguing society that led WNBA and NBA players to cancel their playoff games, and multiple MLB and NFL teams to cancel games and practices.
The police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin prompted a strong response from professional athletes across all sports, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were no exception.
LeSean McCoy, who recently joined the Bucs as a free agent addition to their running back group, gave a passionate response to current events on a video conference call with the media Thursday morning.
“We’re hurt," McCoy said. "We’re hurt with everything we’re seeing and that we constantly keep seeing. We want an answer, but as a group, that’s something we’ve got to talk about. What’s the best way to get our message across and be productive? We don’t want to just say these things, say this [or] say that. We want to actually go out there and be productive, and as a unit, as a group of all colors and all teammates to try to make a difference. The tough part is there’s no real answer for those questions yet. Hopefully together we can send a message out, whatever that may be. B.A. (Bruce Arians) talked about it today – as a group, how can we find a solution and an answer to make our statement? I’m not sure about just not practicing. What does that do? We want to have a real stand. We want to paint a picture that everybody could understand and comprehend. That’s the tough part, but I think eventually as the older guys on the team come together – we’ve been talking about it, but it will pick up more. Hopefully we will have a great solution.”
McCoy said it's difficult to process the wide range of strong emotions that accompany yet another example of police brutality and racial injustice.
“It’s tough," McCoy said. "It really is because people forget – obviously it’s a sport, there is fans, etc. but this is our job. We come here to do our job and it’s hard to overlook the things that are happening in our country. I love my country, but there are so many things we could do better. We all – especially a lot of the African-American players – we feel that because we come from [those] environments where it’s not safe. You kind of want to call the police when there’s an issue and hope that it will get resolved, and not resolved in killings. You keep constantly seeing it and seeing it, and it’s not OK. When we have these conversations, guys are emotional. That could be [one of us]. We are who we are, right? We could be some of [those] people that doesn’t really have a voice or [are] losing their lives. It’s really tough. Those are the kind of conversations, to be honest, that are real touchy. It’s like you keep seeing it. It’s one thing if you hear about it, but it’s actually on tape. You could rewind it and rewind it and rewind it and see it. It is tough. It’s tough to be a black kid and see that. Those are touchy topics.”
McCoy highlighted the importance of professional athletes using their platform to raise awareness and fight for change on important issues that impact their communities.
“We really just want to bring light to the issues," McCoy said. "I think that a lot of times we get wrapped up in just our career – we play ball, we make good money. As a kid you probably grew up a Lakers fan, a Clippers fan or whatever it is because sports is just a thing when you’re a child. But, when you really look at the overall picture, we have a platform and a voice. We want to make [it] clear that, ‘Hey, this is not OK.’ People love to just kick back, watch the games and enjoy themselves. For them, that’s like a time of rejoice or a time to relax. So, why not make that clear at that time, ‘Hey, we know people love to watch games, but right now there’s a bigger issue so there won’t be [any] games. I could see their message that they were trying to paint, to get across and [create] awareness. It’s so wrong. There are so many great things about this country, but certain things we can’t take over and over and over again. I think a lot of ball players are really just stating how they feel by using their voice, using their platform [and] by constantly – over and over – addressing it.”
McCoy admitted how difficult and frustrating it was to watch the video of yet another Black man being the victim of police brutality.
“I just don’t get it," McCoy said. "I really don’t. It’s like, ‘OK, the first time it happens it’s wrong,’ right? But you keep doing it over and over doing it and it’s like, ‘What didn’t you learn from the last case?’ Killing a man is wrong. The people after the fact that keep watching it, keep seeing it – it’s like you see what’s going on and people are talking about it, people are addressing it, they’re making people more aware, and you still are killing innocent people [who are] unarmed. Stuff like that is just hard to understand. Even that video – I guess people were saying the guy was going to the car, etc. – there were so many things you could’ve done. Tackle the guy – you have him out-numbered, tackle him, tase him, something. But killing and shooting him seven times? Come on man, that’s uncalled for. There is no reason why he should have shot him seven times.
"I have a lot of cop friends that I’m close with and we talk about these things." McCoy continued. "I always ask them, ‘In this situation and in this scenario, what would you have done or what should’ve happened?’ If a guy doesn’t have a weapon or doesn’t seem like he has a weapon, drawing your weapon should never be the answer. In that situation that recently just happened, I think they could have just tackled the guy if you thought he was going to the car to get a weapon or whatever you though – but don’t shoot him seven times. That’s uncalled for. That could’ve been your child. You’ve got to think about that as a cop – that could’ve been my son, that could’ve been his son, and you don’t want anybody treating your child that way. That’s just the hard part when you look at it because you can get angry watching it over and over again. I struggle with that.”
