Aaron Rodgers, Khris Middleton, Craig Counsell and others speak out following Kenosha shooting

The Green Bay Packers will open the season in less than three weeks at Minnesota. With a very scaled down offseason and no preseason games, the team is focused on football now more than ever in an effort to get up to speed. But following Monday’s practice, the topic wasn’t football. It was news that another Black man had been shot by a police officer. And this time, it wasn’t in Minnesota or Kentucky. It was in Wisconsin.

With his three children looking on from the back of a car, 29-year-old Jacob Blake was shot at seven times by Kenosha police while he had his back turned to them. He was reportedly fighting for his life at a local hospital. Two officers are on leave as state authorities are conducting an investigation.

The incident led to the coach Matt LaFleur and the team’s leadership council holding a discussion after practice.

“It’s amazing to me that this is still happening, so I wanted to get our guys’ perspective and try to float around some ideas on how we can make a difference and use our platform, because things have to change,” LaFleur told reporters. “The social injustice, the police brutality, the antiquated laws, just got to bring awareness to everybody that black lives matter. We can’t stand for this any longer.”

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers wouldn’t go into detail about what was said in the meeting, but pointed to tight end Marcedes Lewis as being a major voice among those on the council.

“It obviously hits home being not far from Green Bay,” Rodgers said. “I’m not going to comment directly on the video until more facts come out, but obviously it’s something where as a non-police officer, I think [for] a lot of us [the] natural question is, when is lethal force necessary? Again, I think that goes to a systematic problem that needs to be addressed at some point. There’s antiquated laws that are prejudicial against people of color in this state. I think the governor and the folks at the Capitol need to take a hard look at some of those systems that are in place.”

The Packers weren’t the only organization in the state to comment on the incident. Bucks’ coach Mike Budenholzer opened his pregame press conference with a statement of support for Blake and his family. The team then issued a release:

“The Bucks organization is praying for the recovery of Jacob Blake, who was shot multiple times in the back by a police officer at point blank range in Kenosha, Wisconsin yesterday. Our hearts go out to his family and friends.
 
We stand firmly against reoccurring issues of excessive use of force and immediate escalation when engaging the black community.
 
Our organization will continue to stand for all black lives as we demand accountability and systemic change on behalf of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Sylville Smith, Ernest Lacy, Dontre Hamilton, Tony Robinson, Joel Acevedo and countless other victims. We will work to enact policy change so these incidents no longer exist.”

Milwaukee went on to beat Orlando 121-106 and take a 3-1 series lead. Afterwards, Khris Middleton was asked about the shooting and whether they as an organization needs to do more now that it struck a community so close to home.

“This isn’t the first time this has happened in my community. I’ve had two incidents in Charleston, South Carolina with the shooting in the church and the shooting of an unarmed black man running away from police a couple years ago,” Middleton said. “We’re doing everything we can, but it’s up to our lawmakers. It’s up to our police departments to stop shooting us. It’s as simple as that. They’re there to provide safety. There are different ways to de-escalate situations than shooting somebody, especially running away or in the back.”

Prior to agreeing to come to the bubble to complete the season, a number of players said doing so would take the focus away from social justice reforms in the wake of the George Floyd killing in Minneapolis. Following Monday’s game, Bucks’ guard George Hill sounded as if he regretted doing so.

“We can’t do anything. First all, we shouldn’t have came to this damn place to be honest,” Hill said, according to USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt.

“Coming here just took all the focal points off what the issues are. But we’re here. It is what it is. We can’t do anything from right here. But definitely when it’s all settled, some things need to be done.”

Brewers’ manager Craig Counsell met with the media prior to his team’s game with Cincinnati, opening his press availability on the topic of Blake.

“A Black man was shot and his life is in peril and frankly it shouldn’t be,” Counsell said while wearing a Black Lives Matter t-shirt. “We have a systemic problem we have to address.”

The organization also released a statement on the shooting:

“The video of the shooting of Jacob Blake is deeply disturbing and raises many of the same questions we have been asking related to social injustice and racism in our communities. Once again, we are faced with images of a horrific incident that show what appear to be inexplicable and excessive force inflicted upon a Black individual. It stirs emotions of anger, confusion and great sadness at a time when we need healing and lasting change. We pray for a full recovery for Jacob, and our thoughts are with his family and loved ones.”