Indianapolis Colts coach Frank Reich isn't having the team focus on football this week, given the ongoing nationwide protests against police brutality.
During the team's Zoom meetings Reich has been allowing them to be a safe space for all Colts players to not only talk about the events of the last couple of weeks, but to talk about anything that might have had happened in their lives.
There have been stories from both sides of the aisle, with players talking about their fears, while others have expressed their compassion for the individuals telling their stories.
Linebacker Bobby Okereke told Jim Ayello of the Indianapolis Star that there were many tears shed during the meetings.
“There were a lot of tears … I think for a lot of players on this team — players, staff, coaches — yesterday when we first had that conversation, that was probably one of the most impactful social conversations they’ve ever had in their life. For me, easily.”
Running back Nyheim Hines said the discussions have opened up his eyes about how close everyone actually is on the team. Even with all the different ethnicities that make up the Colts locker room, they are all one. Hines said,
“It was big just for me as a player listening to it for the past two days just seeing the unity that we have with the brotherhood … What I really got out of it [was] seeing despite all the bad things going on in the world — blacks, white, all sorts of ethnicities on the football team binding together as one, all of us saying we have each other’s back. It was really moving.”
Hopefully, more people and communities around the United States and world can show more compassion and grow closer as a result of the events of the last few weeks. At the end of the day no matter the skin color, everyone is a human being and the Colts have stressed this in their meetings this week.
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