Matthew Slater Praises Bill Belichick For Discourse With Players Amid Recent Events
One head coach that has yet to make a comment about the social unrest that has surged across the country over the past week and a half is New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. But don't hold that against him. According to one of his players, it seems as if he's taking this time to try and educate himself.
On the latest episode of NBC Sports' "Next Pats Podcast" special teams standout and captain Matthew Slater spoke about what Belichick has done to learn and grow by listening to his players in the midst of the protesting and riots that are taking place in our country.
"I think coach has a good, healthy understanding of the gravity of the situation and the times that we're living in," said Slater. "I think he's done a good job of trying to listen, trying to learn and hear from his players and trying to navigate this as best as he can.
"Look, I understand what his job is. His job is to coach the football team and get the football team ready to be successful, and nothing's going to take his focus away from that. But I do think that it's important, as he has done, to hear from his players and understand that, 'Hey, at the end of the day, football is temporary.' What we're left with is who we are as people, the values and beliefs and our experiences, and the results of those experiences. That's what we're going to be left with.
"So I'm sure that he'll continue to be open and receptive to us having dialogue. I'm thankful for what he has done thus far as far as that process is concerned, and we'll just see how it goes as we press forward."
For some people, putting out a statement may look nice, but if the thought and understanding behind the statement isn't full developed, the words mean nothing. It looks like Belichick, even if he doesn't plan on releasing a statement of some sort, is trying to understand something that he - as a white man - may not fathom given his social status. And who better to ask than some of his players, who are minorities and have dealt with more social injustice in their own personal lives than he has.
Belichick's eagerness to learn and be a student of the game seems to have crossed into another subject. Kudos to him for that.
