Pete Carroll used entire Seahawks virtual meeting to talk about social issues, and Bobby Wagner appreciated it
Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has done his best to switch things up in his virtual meetings this offseason, like bringing on comedian Will Ferrell to provide some laughs.
Monday’s meeting was a lot more serious, and with no football at all.
With protests going on nationwide after George Floyd died in police custody, Carroll knew his players would not be focused on a regular football meetings. So he used the time to have his players express their feelings over what’s happening around them.
“I’m grateful we have an organization that understands,” Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner told reporters on a video conference, via Gregg Bell of the Tacoma News Tribune.
Seahawks skip football talk on Monday
It was clear that Monday couldn’t be just about football. Indianapolis Colts coach Frank Reich addressed his team on racial injustice and said he wanted to help. Carroll knew that treating Monday like a normal day wasn’t the right move.
“It’s hard for me to focus on football or focus on anything other than what’s going on,” Wagner said. “If you looked up from whatever you were doing, you saw what was happening.”
Wagner said players shared their thoughts. They talked about how their cities are dealing with the protests, because players are spread out around the country during the coronavirus outbreak.
Wagner thought it was productive.
“To have a platform and a situation where we can do that, I felt it was great,” Wagner said.
Bobby Wagner: ‘Life is bigger than football’
Football players aren’t robots. They’re human beings, affected by the outside world just like everyone else.
“Stick to sports” is not realistic, nor is it a mantra players should have to follow.
“At the end of the day, life is bigger than football,” Wagner said. “There are things happening bigger than football.”
When teams come together again, whenever that can happen, there will be many social issues being talked about in locker rooms. Some teams are letting their players start sharing their emotions now.
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