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Leagues and Governing Bodies

NFL Keeping Vikings-Panthers In Charlotte After Non-Violent Night Of Protests

The NFL has seen "no reason" to change its stance that Sunday's Vikings-Panthers game will take place at Bank of America Stadium as scheduled after protests in Charlotte on Thursday night were "largely peaceful," according to USA Today's Jarrett Bell. That was a change from Wednesday night, when one protester was shot and killed and numerous stores in the city were damaged and looted. Bell notes a conference call was held Friday morning between the league, the teams and law enforcement officials about whether there was “more of a risk that something could flare up between now and Sunday ... and there are more protests that could jeopardize the game." That possibility is "definitely on the radar, but at this point I don’t think that concern outweighs the idea of playing the game." Bell did not offer specifics on where the game would have been moved, but he noted it "would have been on Monday night at an NFL facility” ("SportsCenter,” ESPN, 9/23). ESPN.com's David Newton notes the "primary concern" for both the Panthers and the NFL is "having enough police to handle the safety concerns of the city and keep the stadium secure.” A source said that the “presence of the National Guard in Charlotte … helps that situation tremendously” (ESPN.com, 9/23). ESPN’s Joe Banner noted most teams hire a "number of off-duty police officers to work within the bowl of the stadium." If those police officers "are working very long shifts over the next few days, if a lot of police officers who would normally be off-duty are not going to be off-duty over the weekend, this is a challenge in many ways that aren’t that visible to the public" ("NFL Insiders,” ESPN, 9/22).

SHOULD GAME MOVE? In Charlotte, Joseph Person notes Panthers coach Ron Rivera on Thursday hoped the game would "go on as scheduled." Rivera said, "I want to play here because I really think this would be good for the city." Panthers RB Mike Tolbert added, "With the terrible things that are going on right now, we’re going to go out and just try to bring a little bit of enlightenment to the community" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 9/23). But ESPN's Michael Wilbon said, "I don’t know that football can rally you around every single cause or issue, although there are some people who think civically, that will” (“PTI,” ESPN, 9/22). ESPN's Pablo Torre said, "Sometimes when sports and life really do bleed all over each other like this, the proper response from sports is to abdicate, it’s to step back and say there are more important things happening" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 9/22).

PLAYERS WEIGH IN
: In Charlotte, Scott Fowler notes several Panthers players "used their platform as professional athletes in a thoughtful way Thursday, calling for peace as they addressed the fatal police shooting in Charlotte and the violent protests that have followed it." Panthers LB Thomas Davis said he hopes people realize rioting and violence is "not the answer." He said, "The only message you’re sending doing it that way is we’re going to go out and we’re going to be violent, we’re going to be hoodlums, we’re going to go ahead and conform to the image. ... As an African-American male, we can’t allow that to happen. That’s not who we are." Panthers TE Greg Olsen said that there "had to be a 'common ground' that must be found between protesters and police so that the current state of 'chaos' could be calmed down." Panthers S Tre Boston, who noted that he was "considering a peaceful protest of his own" prior to Sunday's game, said that he "thought seriously about going uptown and joining the protests over Scott’s death Wednesday night." However, he "reconsidered when he saw reporters injured while doing their jobs" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 9/23).

NO-WIN SITUATION FOR NEWTON? Panthers QB Cam Newton is drawing some criticism for the comments he made earlier in the week regarding Tuesday's shooting as part of a broader picture. The Washington Post's Kevin Blackistone said Newton was "kind of all over the place and just not as well studied ... on this issue." Blackistone: "It’s fine to sometimes not raise your hand and say something. I think in a lot of ways we’ve kind of ‘jumped the shark’ on this issue because now we all of a sudden we turn to every athlete we can find to have them respond to something that’s going on in the community.” Blackistone added, "I took away that he’s confused and that he’s afraid of being construed in a way that he does not want to be construed.” ESPN's Torre said Newton sounds "torn" about whether he should speak out. Torre: “It seems that Cam Newton, ever since he realized that this platform that he has as big as it is, has been trying to calculate, ‘When do I put myself in trouble, from a purely self-interested position?’" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 9/22). ESPN's Jim Trotter said Newton was trying to "speak to both sides." Trotter said he was "disturbed" that Newton brought up black-on-black crime in addition to the "one that we're focused on," which is "police brutality against black people." Trotter: "I would love to see him be as forceful as Richard Sherman was and say that I'm going to continue to shine a light on this. Is that fair? No, it's not fair. But again, life isn't fair" ("SportsCenter,” ESPN, 9/22). ESPN's Jemele Hill said Newton came off “poorly” with his comments. Hill: "He was trying so hard to say things that would be perfectly acceptable on both sides that nobody would be upset about. He was trying too hard to say the right thing, and that’s where you go wrong” ("His & Hers," ESPN2, 9/22).

TO HIS DEFENSE: The Dallas Morning News' Tim Cowlishaw said the sports world is "reaching a point where it’s going to be better for everybody to just shut up and not answer anything." Cowlishaw: "If they talk for 10 minutes and they make sense for nine-and-a-half and we question what they said over here, that's going to get all the focus." In addition to addressing the police shooting, Newton brought up black-on-black crime, and Cowlishaw noted Newton "brought up an issue that a lot of people don't want." Cowlishaw: "He’s been criticized on this network for doing that because that's not part of the discussion they want to have. That's over here. Leave that over here. We're not allowed to talk about that. We're only talking about police brutality against black people right now" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 9/22). ESPN's Michael Smith wondered if Newton is not "primed, prepared and equipped to deal with” the negative backlash and criticism from voicing his opinion. Smith: “Because he is Cam Newton, people are going to assign unnecessary and unearned weight to his commentary. He may just be a 27-year-old guy still finding his voice. He may not understand the big enough picture to be able to truly speak the way that he wants to and the way that he should on this matter" ("His & Hers," ESPN2, 9/22).

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