“I am Heartbroken”: Jake Elliott Reveals He’s Devastated Hearing Instances of Racism from His Philadelphia Eagles Teammates

Over the past few days, America has been rocked by the tragic death of George Floyd. Floyd, an African-American, succumbed to injuries suffered at the hands of a Caucasian police officer others watched. After suffocating him to death, the country reacted very strongly and condemned the police’s actions. Among the condemners is Philadelphia Eagles placekicker, Jake Elliott.

He recently wrote on Twitter, “As I sat in our virtual team meeting this morning and listened to some of my black teammates share their thoughts and experiences related to what is going on, I am truly heartbroken. Devastated for my brothers and everyone directly effected by racism in America. IT IS A PROBLEM and that is obvious.

“Being a white male I’ll never be able to understand or relate but I stand behind you 100%. I am here to listen and learn in anyway I can. Sports has always been a platform that has brought all races together and I am beyond thankful for that. I’ve learned a lot in The City of Brotherly Love and one thing for certain is that we are Stronger Together. I love you all.”

Philadelphia Eagles’ Jake Elliott is not the only one to notice

Clearly, the blight called racism is not going to die out in America or the world anytime soon. The George Floyd incident is just one of many such occurrences of racial police brutality. Even when the discrimination is not violent, there are other, more subtle ways for racism to rear its ugly head.

San Francisco 49ers player, Richard Sherman, also recounted how he also became a victim of subconscious racism. In his case, only his status as an NFL player became his saving grace. If he was just the average joe, the general populace would have treated him with hostility.

He did an experiment where he ventured out in a face mask. This is because the coronavirus crisis is still lingering. Suffice to say, the average white American became suspicious. Mostly because the mask hid his identity. However, when he went out again, sans mask, people put on their metaphorical masks and treated him like any other citizen.