Content available exclusively for subscribers
He will be a key to helping them get through this . . .
C.J. Mosley addressed the media today on a Zoom Conference call.
He was the first Jets player to talk to the press since the George Floyd tragedy, which has had a huge impact on the NFL’s rank-and-file.
Some players say they will go back to kneeling during the National Anthem.
Mosley is the kind of leader who can help the Jets’ locker room get through this. This is the kind of third-rail issue, that if not handled right, can tear a team apart.
Mosley, who was a great leader in Baltimore, was limited to just two games with the Jets last year due to a sports hernia, so his leadership was limited to a degree, because he wasn’t on the field much.
He’s now healed from the sports hernia and he’s ready to help the players and others heal.
“Equality for all – better the system as far as the police, anywhere were this is poverty, players, teams and owners are there to help – we always talk about helping the community, help out the places in need, I think starting there is the main goal,” said Mosley.
The Jets, who are based out of Florham Park, N.J. have some areas of need right in their backyard like Newark and Patterson. I want to make it clear, that I’m not judging past community relations efforts which were noble, but the people of surrounding towns of Madison, Florham Park and Chatham don’t need their help right now.
I hate to pick and choose towns, but if the Jets and their players focused their community outreach like a laser on places Newark and Patterson, wow, could they make a big difference. Whippany and East Hanover don’t need them.
And a guy like Mosley isn’t going to focus on wholesale police reform. That is probably not in the wheelhouse of many players. It’s not in my wheelhouse either.
Press Release today – “Players Coalition and over 1,400 professional athletes, coaches, and front office personnel sent a letter to Congress urging passage of the Ending Qualified Immunity Act, also known as the Amash-Pressley Act.”
The bill looks to remove the doctrine of qualified immunity in order to make it easier for private citizens to sue law enforcement if they believe their constitutional rights have been violated.
Here is what Demario Davis had to say:
“Now is the time for accountability and a call to action. This letter to Congress is the first step on policing we are taking on a national level. We hope this letter and the bill it represents will send a signal to Congress, and to the Supreme Court, that we need a better justice system in place.”
I asked a recently retired policeman what he thought of this bill.
“Remove qualified immunity and not a cop in their right mind will put on the uniform,” said the ex-officer.
“In this litigious society, police officers will be quitting all over the country, not taking any chances” said one legal expert. “Good luck trying to get qualified people to do the job.”
Not taking sides in this, but clearly if this bill passed, it open the floodgates for lawsuits against the police.
This isn’t to say that some police reforms aren’t necessary, but this bill would probably lead to the downfall of the police.
Perhaps players like Josh McCown, Tom Brady and Quinnen Willaism who signed this letter, might want to taker a deeper dive into the issue, before signing off on a bill like this. Perhaps not. Perhaps they knew exactly what they were signing and want this to happen. That is their right.
But you don’t get the sense that Mosley isn’t going to going into the law enforcement lab and figure out how to change police strategy. He did not sign this letter.
His focus is likely going to be in helping in poor communities, promoting equality and keeping the Jets’ locker room together.
June 10, 2020
Premium will return by 9:30 pm on Thursday.