The Chiefs are likely going to be one of the teams setting the tone for the rest of the league on social concerns.
With less than two weeks remaining until the National Football League is scheduled to begin the regular season, questions linger as to whether or not events will play out as planned. At this point, however, the uncertainty isn’t tied as much to the COVID-19 pandemic as it is to ongoing concerns over police brutality and racism.
In the wake of the shooting of Jacob Blake, who was shot seven times in the back by authorities in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the level of participation in Black Lives Matter protests and demonstrations has grown considerably in the last 48 hours or more. It’s no secret that other major sports have seen practices or games—even playoff competitions—paused or outright canceled due to players, coaches and/or staff members deciding to forgo participation as a way of joining protests that continue across the United States.
The Milwaukee Bucks and Orlando Magic pulled the plug on Game 5 of their current series to start the domino effect that eventually reached MLS, MLB and the WNBA. On Thursday, several NFL teams decided to cancel practice in order to also stand in solidarity and raise awareness.
Looking forward, it will be interesting to see just how much the league leans on the Kansas City Chiefs as examples of how to handle things moving forward. As the defending champs, the Chiefs are already in position as a premiere franchise with the league’s most popular player on the team in Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes and other teammates, including Tyrann Mathieu, have become vocal in recent months about social issues like voter suppression and have worked to remedy those concerns.
The Chiefs aren’t just a premiere franchise, but they also have one of the league’s most respected leaders in head coach Andy Reid. His presence and influence in the league goes a long way, as illustrated by the Chiefs’ influence on how other teams handled the return to stadiums in the wake of the pandemic.
Even more, the Chiefs are one of the first teams scheduled to play a real game. If teams are going to come together and sit out an actual game, certainly the Chiefs, along with the Houston Texans, would be on the front end of that as the season-opening contest on September 10. If the Chiefs or Texans players wanted to take similar actions as NBA teams, it would likely surface then with perhaps other teams following suit over the actual weekend when most Week 1 games are slated to happen.
That’s not to say that any NFL team will do anything at all in the wake of this, other than skip a practice or two. The Chiefs went ahead and practiced on Thursday when others did not and it’s possible that Reid and his players stay relatively silent during this time. If so, even that could be an influential stance given the charisma and respect garnered by the staff and players in Kansas City these days.