In response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man in Kenosha, Wis., where he was shot in the back seven times, the Milwaukee Bucks opted to boycott Game 5 of their NBA playoff series with the Orlando Magic.
Soon after, all five playoff games set to take place on Wednesday were postponed due to players choosing to boycott.
That decision trickled into Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, and the WNBA, where teams decided to boycott their games, as well.
With all of this as a backdrop, the Carolina Panthers had their "Live All-Access" practice Wednesday night, which was televised throughout the Carolinas and in parts of Virginia and Georgia.
The practice at Bank of America Stadium began shortly after the boycotts were announced, but team members were well aware of what was taking place elsewhere.
“We don’t want to go out and not practice just because everyone else is doing it,” linebacker Tahir Whitehead said following practice. “We need it well thought out and make sure we are supporting the cause. We need to make sure we are doing everything that we can to combat change with everything that’s going on in this country. Because at some point, when does it end?”
Panthers head coach Matt Rhule spoke with a handful of leaders on the team asking them how they wanted to move forward. They decided they to practice for the fans, but they wanted to make a statement n the future.
“I think they wanted to be in support of the NBA, obviously they wanted to be in support of social justice,” Rhule said. “But in the end, they also felt like they wanted to do something impactful. They wanted to take some time and do something besides just missing a Wednesday night practice.
“The biggest thing that I took away is even though I am trying to listen and even though I think I understand to a degree – is some of the players told me, the perpetual rage and the perpetual anger and fear and disenfranchisement and all these things guys are feeling, it manifests itself differently in different ways but it’s not right that guys feel this way or guys are forced to feel this way."
In June, some Panthers players protested after the police killing of George Floyd, a black man killed in Minnesota. The shooting of Blake has brought back the continued anger in them feeling that change is not being made.
“Even though we stand up in the streets and protest and demand change, these things aren’t changing," Rhule continued. "These things are still happening. So I heard not just a call for social justices, but I heard the feelings of the men that I care about loud and clear.”
Whitehead explained why it's tough for him.
“It’s extremely frustrating, myself included. Having four sons, I can’t imagine my children experiencing something as such," Whitehead said. "Honestly, it has been keeping me up at night wondering how it would make them feel. People need to be held accountable. For us, we need to use our platform, use our voice to make sure that everyone understands that this needs to end.”
A few NFL teams canceled their practices Thursday in response but Carolina was already scheduled to have the day off.
NBA players reportedly decided that they will resume the playoffs Friday.
The NFL is slated to start its season on Sept. 10, with the Panther on Sept. 13, at home against the Las Vegas Raiders.
“At the end of the day, we are just taking it one day at a time,” Whitehead said. “The season doesn’t start for another few weeks. It is a matter of how things get. It is a matter of what person goes out there and says the wrong thing. Who’s in charge of things and who can bring these criminals to justice? Because at the end of the day, we feel like there’s no justice. It is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.”