On Monday, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rogers responded to the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, saying it was part of a systemic problem.
“There’s a systemic problem, and until the problem is fixed, this is going to be an all-too-common sighting in this country,” Rogers told reporters during a conference call, as reported by Fox News. “It obviously hits home being not far from Green Bay. I’m not going to comment directly on the video until more facts come out, but obviously it’s something whereas a nonpolice 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,” he continued. “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.”
Riots broke out in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Sunday and continued well into Monday following a viral video that showed a white police officer shooting Jacob Blake, a black man, several times in the back as he reached into his car.
Rogers’ statement about “systemic” problems came on the same day that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said that he wishes he “listened” to famed national anthem kneel Colin Kaepernick at the height of his protest.
“The first thing I’d say is I wished we had listened earlier to Kaep, to what you were kneeling about and what you were trying to bring attention to,” Goodell said on the video series “Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man.” “We had invited him in several times to have the conversation, to have the dialogue. I wish we had the benefit of that. We never did. And we would’ve benefited from that, absolutely.”
Last week, Kelly Stafford, the wife of Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, apologized to Colin Kaepernick for her 2017 remarks criticizing his national anthem protests over police brutality.
“When Kaepernick knelt during the national anthem, I had strong feelings about it. Even when he kept saying it had nothing to do with the flag or military, I didn’t listen. I kept not listening to him or anyone else and let the political rhetoric persuade me that him kneeling was disrespectful to our military,” she said in her post.
“Over the past several months, I have opened my ears, mind, and heart and it has opened my eyes to see how wrong I was and for that I am sorry,” she continued. “This systematic (sic) racism is not going away unless we ALL work on it by working on ourselves and those around us. It’s time for everyone to do their part to help end this system.”
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