Dallas Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott, other stars assert right to protest in video to NFL
Unlike a number of Dallas Cowboys players, including quarterback Dak Prescott, and top scout Will McClay, running back Ezekiel Elliott has yet to make a statement on his social media pages in the wake of the killing of George Floyd and the protests that have sprang up in hundreds of cities across the nation.
But Elliott joined a group of more than 15 NFL players who put together a powerful 70-second video pointed directly at the NFL and seemingly Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. The video dealt with the players’ right to protest and their fight against the systemic oppression of black people.
The players included Patrick Peterson, Saquon Barkley, Deshaun Watson, Michael Thomas, Odell Beckhan Jr., Patrick Mahomes, Jarvis Landry, Tyrann Mathieu and DeAndre Hopkins.
“It’s been 10 days since George Floyd was brutally murdered,” Thomas says at the beginning of the video.
It continues with different players reciting: “How many times do we need to ask you to listen to your players? What will it take? For one of us to be murdered by police brutality?”
The players followed with “What if I was George Floyd?”
The players added personal impressions as black victims of police brutality and racism.
“I am George Floyd . . . I am Breonna Taylor . . . I am Ahmaud Arbery . . . I am Eric Garner . . . I am Laquan McDonald . . . I am Tamir Rice . . . I am Trayvon Martin . . . I am Walter Scott . . . I am Michael Brown Jr. . . . I am Samuel DuBose . . . I am Frank Smart . . . I am Phillip White . . . I am Jordan Baker,” the group stated individually.
Then came the declarative moment.
“We will not be silenced. We assert our right to peacefully protest,” with Elliott adding, “It shouldn’t take this long to admit.”
The video ends with this demand: “So, on behalf of the National Football League, this is what we, the players, would like to hear you state:
“We, the National Football League, condemn racism and the systematic oppression of black people. We, the National Football League, admit wrong in silencing our players from peacefully protesting. We, the National Football League, believe black lives matter.”
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wasn’t specifically named in the video, however, he was one of the most vocal NFL executives in prohibiting his players from taking part in silent protests in the past. In 2016, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem to bring attention to racism and police brutality against people of color.
Jones had said all Cowboys players must stand with their toes on the line or they would not play. He helped enact a new league policy that says their teams can be fined if they don’t stand or show respect for the flag. Kaepernick and scores of others have consistently said that the silent protests have nothing to do with the flag.
The national anthem protest had not been as hot of a topic in recent seasons, however, the video seems to indicate that players plan on bringing those protests back this season.
This story was originally published June 5, 2020 at 11:33 AM.
