NEW ORLEANS, La. – On a day where some NFL clubs decided to cancel practice in response to the Jacob Blake shooting in Wisconsin, the New Orleans Saints took the practice field with his name on their helmets.
Head Coach Sean Payton says that having Blake’s name on their helmets was something that the team decided late last night.
Payton adds that there were no talks of the team cancelling practice today, adding that “I think we’ve got a close locker room and if they came up with something they felt they wanted to do, I’d support it.”
Payton felt that the team’s decision to have Blake’s name on their helmets was “appropriate.”
Payton says that professional athletes, specifically in the NFL, calling attention to the Black Lives Matter movement and ending social injustice is not a new trend.
This call to action has been going on for years now, starting with former 49ers Quarterback Collin Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem before NFL games.
Payton says “history would tell us that we’ve seen this before and I think part of coaching is teaching them they have a voice and a very powerful one and certainly understanding that and then respecting everyone voice. So collectively as a team a lot of things can be done to encourage change.”
Payton was asked about the team’s ability to balance discussions between social issues and game-planning for Tampa Bay.
Payton responded, “There are a number of things that our players incur throughout the course of a season. Something like this is significant and very important and it’s part of the challenge of being a professional athlete. I think the last thing would be to ignore it or pretend like it wasn’t happening and I think we’ve got the right leadership in this locker room to understand those elements and having the correct balance.”
The Saints practiced indoors today because of the inclement weather.
Payton says that the team will continue to monitor the weather to see where they will practice tomorrow.
Here is more practice video from Thursday:
