Field Level Media
03 Jun 2020, 01:25 GMT+10
Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace canceled planned team meetings and individual sessions to recognize Blackout Tuesday.
Nagy gave the floor to players, including the social justice reform committee, in an effort to pause and allow for productive conversations around the topics of racism and police brutality.
Chicago has been witness to several nights of protests since a white police officer was filmed kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, who died in police custody in Minneapolis.
Team chairman George McCaskey said his team is committed to being "an active participant in change."
"A week ago another unarmed African-American man died at the hands of a white police officer. We are witnessing the anger and frustration play out in protests across the nation, including Chicago," McCaskey said.
"We must do more than wring our hands and hope it doesn't happen again. As an organization, we have addressed it internally by offering unconditional support to our family of staff, coaches and players, and today Ryan Pace and Coach Nagy spent the allotted two hours of team meeting time listening to and healing together with our players and the coaching staff.
"Through our voice, our actions and our resources, it is our obligation to lead. We will continue to work with our player-led social justice committee to provide funding and exposure to local organizations dedicated to empowering communities that have been oppressed for far too long."
--Field Level MediaGet a daily dose of Chicago Chronicle news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Chicago Chronicle.
More InformationMILAN, Italy: Italian regulators have flagged four non-EU countries—including Russia—as carrying systemic financial risk for domestic...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: With just weeks to spare before a potential government default, U.S. lawmakers passed a sweeping tax and spending...
PARIS, France: Fast-fashion giant Shein has been fined 40 million euros by France's antitrust authority over deceptive discount practices...
PALO ALTO/TEL AVIV: The battle for top AI talent has claimed another high-profile casualty—this time at Safe Superintelligence (SSI),...
FRANKLIN, Tennessee: Hundreds of thousands of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles are being recalled across the United States due to a potential...
REDMOND, Washington: Microsoft is the latest tech giant to announce significant job cuts, as the financial strain of building next-generation...
(Photo credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images) The Washington Nationals dismissed manager Dave Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo...
(Photo credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images) Michael Lorenzen pitched seven scoreless innings and won for the first time in nearly a...
(Photo credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images) Mickey Moniak finished a double shy of the cycle, Michael Toglia also went deep, and the...
(Photo credit: Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images) Road course ace Shane van Gisbergen roared to the lead on Lake Shore Drive and ran away...
(Photo credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images) The Washington Wizards completed a three-team trade on Sunday, acquiring guard CJ McCollum,...
(Photo credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images) The Toronto Blue Jays placed second baseman Andres Gimenez on the 10-day injured list...