Vikings Embrace Role In Black Live Matter Movement Following George Floyd Death

The Minnesota Vikings have been thrust into the middle of the most important American development of the 21st century.

The death of George Floyd on the streets of Minneapolis that was caught on videotape and broadcast around the world. As the knee of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin remained on the back of Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, it has set off a movement that is designed to put an end to racial injustice at all levels throughout the country.

General manager Rick Spielman is not just the leader of a franchise that is fighting to get to the top of the NFC North and go on a long playoff run. Spielman is a white man who is the father of six adopted and non-white children. It didn’t take the death of Floyd for Spielman to know the risk that African-Americans face when forced to confront those in law enforcement.

“My kids see a whole different world,” he said, per Arif Hasan of The Athletic. “I struggle to explain to our kids why there is white privilege and why when we go out on our own, we live in a totally different world.”  

In addition to the teaching position that Spielman is now in, the Vikings have a three-year-old internal social justice committee that is designed to open eyes to the problems faced by people of color in the Twin Cities and throughout the United States.

That committee has distributed more than $250,000 the last two years, and it has also established the George Floyd Legacy Scholarship, a $125,000 endowment that is expected to help black students in the Twin Cities area attend college.

That committee, which is headed by co-defensive coordinator Andre Patterson, will help the team’s ownership decide how to spend $5 million to help the Black Lives Matter cause throughout the country.

Vikings players held an emotional call earlier this week to discuss how the NFL can lead changes in areas from justice reform to major social issues. They also used the opportunity to talk about their own individual circumstances when facing racism from a variety of institutions.

While the business of playing for or coaching an NFL team is normally a singular challenge for those involved, that is no longer the case in 2020.

The recent Black Lives Matter video put out by star African-American NFL players, including Patrick Mahomes, Michael Thomas and Saquon Barkley,  demonstrates how powerful athletes can be in providing emphasis to a social movement. That is not likely to change at any point in the upcoming season.

The Vikings will be in an extremely visible role throughout the season as a result of their proximity to this watershed incident. The moment of Floyd’s death has focused world-wide attention on racism, and the local angle is likely to ensure the Vikings’ social justice committee will continue to remain in a leadership role for the foreseeable future.

How this will impact the team’s performance on the field is a complete unknown.

The Vikings face multiple issues as they prepare for the 2020 season, including the upgrading of a defense that slipped badly in its pass coverage in 2019. Multiple moves have been made in free agency and the draft, and head coach Mike Zimmer, Patterson and co-defensive coordinator Adam Zimmer will have to find a way to get this unit on track if the team is going to be an NFC contender.

Adding to the tumult is the unhappiness of star running back Dalvin Cook with his contract. While a holdout is possible, the likelihood is that Cook will not stay away from the team during the season. This is due in large part due to the COVID19 pandemic and its impact on NFL revenues.

Cook is the center piece of an offense that depends on its ground game as much as any team in the NFL. The Vikings know that for their offense to perform at a high level, Cook must be the lead performer. That will open things up for quarterback Kirk Cousins, who has shown he can put impressive statistics on the board but has often struggled against the best opponents.

The Vikings’ status in this powerful movement for equality and justice among African-Americans as well as the issues on the football field will make the 2020 season among the most important and memorable in team history.

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