Colts GM Chris Ballard questions why white community doesn’t think Black Lives Matter
By Mary Clarke
Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard doesn’t understand the pushback on the Black Lives Matter movement.
Players, coaches and general managers across the NFL have continued to speak out on the murder of George Floyd by police officers. Some teams and players have gotten it right, such as Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians, while others like Drew Brees have yet to get the point of the protests and the Black Lives Matter movement.
One such general manager that has recently spoken out on the racial injustice and rampant police brutality that impacts the black community is Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard. On Thursday, Ballard spoke at an unannounced media availability and for nearly 20 minutes, talked exclusively about the Black Lives Matter movement and the systemic racism that has affected the black community.
Colts GM Chris Ballard opens up — in an impassioned, sometimes-tearful 15-minute speech on the state of racial inequality in our country. This follows two days of meetings w/ players and staff that opened his eyes like never before.
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) June 4, 2020
Some of his most powerful words below: pic.twitter.com/E2rhir9Pu7
Colts general manager Chris Ballard gets real on racial injustice
Over the course of the conference, Ballard spoke on his own ignorance as a white man and that after having discussions with his team and his family, he listened and learned. Alongside that message was one of confusion for the white community, who Ballard said he doesn’t understand why it’s so hard for them to state that Black Lives Matter.
“But I cannot sit here and remain silent — because that’s exactly what we’ve done, every time our black community screams and yells for help,” Ballard said. “We have to end social injustices and racial inequalities. We have to end the police violence against our black communities. Black lives matter. I don’t know why that’s so freaking hard for the white community to say. Black lives matter.”
Contrast this message to the one that Brees made earlier in the week, in which he quibbled over players kneeling during the national anthem, stating that it is disrespectful to the flag, alongside the swift reaction to it. Many white NFL players, head coaches and general managers have a thing or two to learn from Ballard’s allyship.
Tyrann Mathieu apologizes to Brandon Marshall on Twitter. dark. Next