The NFL released a statement saying it still planned to play Sunday’s game between the Minnesota Vikings and Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, despite riots after a black man was shot by a black police officer.
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Sunday’s game is scheduled to take place at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
“We are planning to play the game as scheduled on Sunday”, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a written statement.
Fans should also expect to see highly trained bomb-sniffing dogs around Bank of America stadium Sunday afternoon when the Panthers take on the Minnesota Vikings.
North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory declared a state of emergency and state troopers and National Guard members moved in to attempt to curb the level of violence. The unrest has been perilous enough to cause concern about the city hosting an NFL football game in three days.
Many downtown businesses have told employees to stay home if possible.
One person was shot during the protests in Uptown Charlotte, according to Charlotte Mecklenburg Police. “I see it, and I commend those guys doing those type of deals”, said Vikings defensive tackle Tom Johnson, who sued two Minneapolis police officers in federal court for violating his civil rights for the way he was treated in an October 2014 incident.
Scott’s family and a witness have said he was holding a book, not a firearm, when he was killed. He also said he has considered a gesture similar to Colin Kaepernick’s – kneeling during the national anthem – but he has not made a final decision about the best way to voice his feelings.
Panthers coach Ron Rivera compared it to a situation from his time in San Diego, when wildfires forced the team to leave for a week of practice in Phoenix, but they came back for the game that week, providing a bit of a lift. And so to ask our opinion on things we don’t really know about, we don’t have all the answers. “We’re not the type of team that’s about to sit back and cry about what’s happened”.
“It’s a very hard time right now”.
“While the circumstances now are obviously different, playing again was an important step in that community’s healing process”, Rivera said. That experience of living through others has helped him have perspective, but others are deeply polarized on social issues because they don’t understand the experiences of the other side. But he added: “When taken in the totality of all the other evidence, it supports what we said”.
On what athletes can do: “One of the things I had to do yesterday as a parent was go home and talk to my boys who watched the news and explain to them that not all cops are bad cops. Some people are trying to do it their way, some people are trying to do it peacefully”. During pregame introductions, five Rams players raised their arms in a “hands up, don’t shoot” gesture that had been used by protesters.
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Michael Jordan has called for peaceful demonstration and conversation in the wake of the violent protests in Charlotte. “Police are here to protect and serve us, but at the same time someone has to be held accountable for what is going on”.
