“Practice?! We talking bout Practice!”
In 2002, Allen Iverson’s infamous rant reverberated throughout every corner of the sports stratosphere.
“Not the game, but we’re talking about practice, man. I mean, how silly is that?”
At the time, Iverson came off as a malcontent for undermining the necessity of being properly prepared for the game at hand. But on Tuesday, ESPN reports that the Detroit Lions skipped practice for a far more noble reason: to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake by police in Kenosha, Wis.
From ESPN:
Three Lions players — safety Duron Harmon, defensive end Trey Flowers and offensive tackle Taylor Decker — addressed the media to explain their decision and share why, when they entered the building Tuesday, they felt football wasn’t as important as speaking out and sending a message that what happened to Blake and many others in this country is not OK.
“As a team, we looked each other in the eyes and realized that football isn’t important today,” Harmon said. “We have a platform that we are able to use not just to raise awareness but to create change.”
Armed with a whiteboard with the phrases “The World Can’t Go On” and “We Won’t Be Silent” written on it, the Lions assembled in front of the team’s headquarters and expressed to the media how they’ll do what’s necessary to win games on the football field, but also do “everything we can to bring change as well.”
