Seahawks cancel Saturday practice

So far 2020 has been a roller coaster year, with nearly every facet of daily life having been flipped upside down by a pandemic that has killed hundreds of thousands of people across the globe. That has created an economic situation in which tens of millions have lost their employment, with a not insignificant number of people across the country facing the prospect of eviction and possibly losing their homes.

The pandemic occupied the spring, and then the death of George Floyd on May 25th at the hands of police set off a firestorm of protests across the country and discussions about systemic racism in the United States. That may have been the spark that started the discussion, but it’s continued all summer and grew more intense recently following the Jacob Blake shooting, which led directly to the cancellation of postseason NBA games as players refused to play.

Saturday, the members of the Seattle Seahawks decided not to practice.

Chris Carson, Tre Flowers and Jarran Reed had been scheduled to speak to the media Saturday, but those were cancelled and replaced with an appearance by Pete Carroll. Carroll delivered a powerful message on what he believes needs to be done in order to address the systemic racism that exists in the country today.

Carroll then went on to discuss the need to participate in the electoral process and explained that by the end of today every Seahawks player will be registered to vote.

Fans who wish to listen to what Carroll had to say may do so below (link should cue up to the start of Carroll speaking, though if it does not fast forward to the 1:41:30 mark).