Offseason of change leads to more empowered NFL players

TAMPA — Bucs defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was like many NFL players, somewhat uncomfortable with the spotlight when it comes to social justice matters. After all, the league has not always been supportive.

But this offseason, as the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police led to a renewed dialogue on systematic racism, Suh was one of the many players who found his voice.

“I’m not always the person to be in the forefront, but I understand the weight that I can particularly carry,” said Suh, who participated in marches in his hometown of Portland, Ore. “I’m more of a person that wants to be behind the scenes and actually create live change as opposed to just bringing awareness all the time. There’s different ways that people have been able to find success and ways to bring awareness and to each their own as long as it’s being done in a positive way.”

One of the peaceful protests Suh participated in was organized by his friend and offseason training partner, Texans linebacker Brennan Scarlett, on Juneteenth. He marched through Portland’s historically Black neighborhoods, on streets named for civil right leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.

“We’ve always had a united front,” Suh said. “It’s been voiced a lot louder in this particular day and age just because of social media and all of the different particular outlets that we have. You definitely take great pride in being part of this association and the guys have handled themselves and have been doing a lot of positive things when it comes to the George Floyd situation, the Breonna Taylor situation.”

It wasn’t that long ago when such protests were frowned upon by the NFL, when “Black Lives Matter” was seen as a taboo term. Four years ago, former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was widely criticized for kneeling during the national anthem. But the events of this offseason were a reckoning.

“As professional athletes, we have this platform, and a lot of people in the NFL are minorities,” Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans said. “This is the best time for our platforms (because) everybody is watching. The teams and the league coming together — it means a lot and it gives a lot of people hope out there.”

Several players, including high-profile starts like Patrick Mahomes, Michael Thomas, Odell Beckham Jr., Deondre Hopkins, Deshaun Watson, Saquon Barkley and Ezekiel Elliott, teamed up to produce a video calling for the league to condemn systematic racism and support the players’ right to peacefully protest.

“How many times do we need to ask you to listen to your players?” Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu says in the video.

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The video prompted a response from commissioner Roger Goodell, who apologized for not listening to players.

Athletes also forced the league to enact stricter COVID-19 health and safety protocols as they expressed concerns for the safety of themselves and their families.

“At the end of the day, we’re all humans, whether you’re a superstar athlete or not,” said Bucs left tackle Donovan Smith, who expressed his concern about COVID-19 protocols before training camp. “With everything going on, it is a great opportunity for everyone to come together to make a change because we make a lot of things go in the sports world and everything.”

Bucs player representative Ali Marpet said players seem to be more freely speaking their minds in the locker rooms as well.

“I definitely think that you’ve seen a couple guys feel more comfortable about speaking their truth,” the left guard said. “I think that’s great and I think you’ll see more of that moving forward. I really do think there are a lot of great leaders in our locker room that do a lot of things in our community. I think as we talk about the national spotlight being closer to the Bucs, you’ll see some more of that. I’m really impressed with a lot of my teammates and their perspective, their values and what they want to share with their community.”

The Bucs’ Social Justice Initiative, the player-driven group born out of the desire to make a greater impact beyond kneeling for the anthem, already has introduced a voting project (disseminating information on voter registration and the importance of voting) and will have others this season.

“It’s a great opportunity for a lot of us to come out there, step out and say something (to) make sure we project what’s right is right and what’s wrong is wrong,” said Smith, one of the initiative’s player board members. “We have to come to a solution. We’ve protested, we’ve done things, but we’ve just got to keep the foot on the gas to make the change — you can’t stop.”

Young players like rookie Antoine Winfield Jr. are entering a league where they feel more comfortable expressing themselves.

“It’s great for athletes and anybody that’s an idol to people to go out there and reach out, say something and speak up and use their voice,” Winfield said. “I think it’s great that we’re allowed to do that.”

The NFL recently announced its social justice initiatives, which include end zone signage in stadiums — “End Racism and “It Takes All of Us” — and allowing players to wear the names of victims of systematic racism and police brutality via decals on their helmets.

Still, after seeing what other sporting leagues did, sending the message that continuing the conversation about social justice reform is more important than games, the looming question is what NFL players will do once the season begins. Will any sit out? Will they kneel for the national anthem?

“We want to make (it) clear that, ‘Hey, this is not okay.’ People love to just kick back, watch the games and enjoy themselves. For them, that’s like a time of rejoice or a time to relax,” Bucs running back LeSean McCoy said. “So, why not make that clear at that time, ’Hey, we know people love to watch games, but right now there’s a bigger issue so there won’t be (any) games.’ I could see their message that they were trying to paint, to get across and (create) awareness. ...

“There are so many great things about this country, but certain things we can’t take over and over and over again.”

Contact Eduardo A. Encina at eencina@tampabay.com. Follow @EddieInTheYard.