Current and former SU athletes react to police shooting of Jacob Blake
Max Freund | Staff Photographer
Current and former Syracuse players are joining athletes across the country in expressing frustration and pain after police in Kenosha, Wisconsin shot Jacob Blake on Sunday.
Police officers shot Blake, a Black man, seven times in the back outside his car. Blake was left partially paralyzed, according to his lawyers. Three days later, 17-year old Kyle Rittenhouse, who is white, was charged with first-degree intentional homicide in a shooting that killed two people at a protest in Kenosha over the police shooting of Blake.
Several major sports leagues boycotted games yesterday in response to the police shooting. Athletes and coaches have called for justice, pleaded to “stop killing unarmed Black people,” and said they don’t feel safe in the United States. They’ve also questioned the role of sports in society, one that Los Angeles Clippers’ Doc Rivers said doesn’t love Black people.
“Why am I playing in a country to entertain people that don’t care about our well being unless we’re on the field,” Tyrell Richards, a starting linebacker for Syracuse, tweeted on Thursday. “F*** playing sports, we don’t need to distract them from s***, make everyone look at what’s really going on because at the end of the day … I AM JACOB BLAKE.”
Former SU football player Sean Onwualu and Cameron Jordan, a receiver who left the program this summer, retweeted Richards’ message. Jordan in a separate tweet admonished the retort of “blue lives matter” in response to the Black Lives Matter movement. When he steps off the field and removes his jersey, he goes from being cheered for to returning to being the “most hated and feared race in America,” Jordan said.
We live in a society that compares Black Lives Matter to an occupation, a uniform that is taken off every night before someone lies their head on their pillow. While I can’t shake the color of my skin. But, when I wear a jersey,everyone is okay with cheering me on and watching me
— Cam Jordan (@Cam_J1) August 27, 2020
Former SU defensive lineman Kendall Coleman criticized an article about Rittenhouse because it framed him as a “vigilante.” Several Orange athletes and alumni, including Justyn Knight, Kingsley Jonathan, Matthew Bergeron, Kenneth Ruff Jr. and Luke Benson either liked or retweeted it.
Director of Athletics John Wildhack said in a statement Thursday that SU is “saddened and angered by the senseless shooting of Jacob Blake,” adding that the Orange are “building a culture that respects every individual, particularly Black and Brown people who have suffered through racism, oppression and suppression.”
As of now, the ACC is pushing forward with the fall football season alongside the SEC and Big 12. The Orange have one week left in training camp, but have sat out several practices with concerns over health guidelines, mostly those of other schools.
Earlier this summer, Syracuse held team meetings over Zoom to discuss the killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery. Head coach Dino Babers said his players are allowed to express themselves, but he prefers his players to be educated on a topic before speaking their minds. Babers told reporters June 11 that his team is “energized” and he hopes to see action.
“Our generation didn’t get it done,” Babers told reporters. “You young people, with the generation of the 50s, 60s, 70s, being the older people, I really believe they have a chance to get it done. I’m really excited about what they could do. I’m with them. If they get it done, it’ll be a bigger win than Syracuse was ever against Clemson. I’ll be more proud of them.”
Vigilante is often the word used right before people start saying Hero. This dude is NO HERO. He murdered people and was allowed to walk away…what's heroic about that? https://t.co/1bb71yzHjt
— KC (@KendallColeman_) August 26, 2020
The NBA’s boycott came exactly four years after Colin Kaepernick took a knee. And, 50 years ago, nine Syracuse football players boycotted spring practices and sat out the season for equal rights.
Here are more reactions from current and former Syracuse athletes in the wake of the police shooting of Blake:
When will black lives matter in a country that promotes violence..? https://t.co/i52Nt9plm0
— Darius Tisdale (@DTizzy56) August 27, 2020
I’m tired. Why did it take another video of a black man being violated for us to take a stand? The other video’s weren’t enough? It’s frustrating to watch people on social media hop from trend to trend constantly. People only speak out when it’s convenient. Conversation is
— Dre Cisco (@OCHOClSCO) August 28, 2020
HUMAN LIFE !!!!!!! https://t.co/GzrzQMZeqC
— Eli (@elijahhughes4_) August 26, 2020
Carrying a knife isn’t a capitol offense & I’m sure you discovered the knife in the car AFTER you shot him 7 times in the back at point blank range…. https://t.co/Mt9cEkDVTW
— Kenneth Ruff Jr (@45KR_Jr) August 27, 2020
Were not even safe in our own homes smh
— QB Nightmare 4️⃣6️⃣ (@QB_Nightmare4) August 27, 2020
All y’all true colors showing, I can’t stand that WE STILL HAVE TO FACE THIS PROBLEM !
— QB Nightmare 4️⃣6️⃣ (@QB_Nightmare4) August 27, 2020
Real heavy today…feeling held down by everything going on…you can feel the heavy energy of the world….can’t even understand smh…give us clarity…give us hope…but at the same time we need action!
— Eric Devendorf (@ED23HOOPS) August 27, 2020
Living as a Black person is constant stress or fear literally everyday, all day.
— Billy “BLM” Fawn? (@CallMe_GiGi) August 27, 2020
This story will be updated with additional reporting.
Published on August 27, 2020 at 2:32 pm
Contact Danny: dremerma@syr.edu | @DannyEmerman