Patrick Mahomes on Jacob Blake shooting: ‘Crazy this is still going on in the world’
A number of NFL teams canceled practices on Thursday, following NBA, WNBA, MLS and some Major League Baseball teams in protesting racial injustice and police brutality.
The decision to step away from the sports they play was sparked by the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
On Thursday, the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce were interviewed on SiriusXM NFL Radio and talked about the Blake shooting and trying to bring about social justice.
Mahomes praised the fact that the Chiefs have brought in people to talk with the players about social injustices.
“I think we’ve done a good job in amongst each other of just getting each other’s perspective, talking if that’s at lunch, or if that’s just in any free time that we have, because it is something that’s critical in our country is how to find a way to be better,” Mahomes said. “And with the Jacob Blake shooting, me and Trav were talking about it, it’s just crazy, man, that this is still going on in the world that we live in today.
“And we’re going to try to set the example on it, in whatever way possible, to show that we can get along and we can really respect one another for who they are and not the color of their skin. And we’re hoping that we can get over this, I mean it’s too long. It’s been too long and we’re going to try to get over this and get to where we treat each other equally.”
Mahomes was asked why he decided to speak out this summer about the need for social justice.
“Like I said, it’s just been too long. I mean it’s too much suffering,” Mahomes said. “It’s too much (of) people being treated differently, and I think I was just tired of it. I think everybody’s tired of it; and it continues to happen and we have to find a way to change, and I’m going to be a voice, I’m going to do whatever active, whatever I can, to make sure we change and we can make the world a better place. Whatever that takes, Travis is right along with me, we’re going to make sure that we do whatever it takes to put the world in a better place.”
Kelce then made reference to Chiefs head coach Andy Reid’s comments about the Blake incident and the unrest in Kenosha.
“Yeah, I think coach said it best: Everybody’s just got to love each other and appreciate one another for who they are, their differences, knowing that we all do have differences, we all have crazy different upbringings, the people around us, thought of mind, things like that,” Kelce said. “It’s just, everyone has to come together and appreciate everyone for who they are, man. And until we have that peace of mind, I think we need to stand up and make a change, make a difference in our communities until we see that.”
Here is the clip:
This story was originally published August 27, 2020 at 7:31 PM.
