Eagles' biggest anthem protester responds to Trump with silence - 'You aren't listening'
To the surprise of virtually nobody, a media firestorm was sparked when the Trump administration disinvited the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles from their scheduled White House visit.
Some applauded President Donald Trump’s decision Tuesday and others lambasted him for it, but ultimately virtually everybody was talking about it.
It makes sense then that an unusually large contingent of reporters descended upon the Eagles for their media availability Wednesday.
Media line to get into Eagles locker room. No one seems to care that I have TSA precheck pic.twitter.com/p7RBtAiM7p
— Les Bowen (@LesBowen) June 6, 2018
It can’t be stressed enough that this was a massive media turnout for a team that will not play a meaningful football game for another 92 days.
Yet despite the sheer volume of reporters, none of them was able to get outspoken Philadelphia safety Malcolm Jenkins to talk.
Of note, one of the biggest talking points to erupt from the White House fiasco involved the fact that not a single Eagles player knelt for the national anthem last year before a regular season game. However, that doesn’t mean the team was devoid of protests. Jenkins raised his fist in the traditional “black power” salute for a good chunk of the regular season. (He told Sports Illustrated it was a “sign of solidarity, resistance and strength, especially against oppression and against violence.”)
https://twitter.com/Ketchcast/status/898360425494044672
Jenkins has always been a vocal proponent of various social justice issues, which is what made his silence so much more jarring during Wednesday’s media availability.
And while he reportedly didn’t speak a word, he still sent a message to the media, the White House and presumably Trump himself.
Instead of speaking, Jenkins held up various signs.
The most prominent of them proclaimed, “You aren’t listening.”
Others included “More than 60% of people in prison are people of color” and “Nearly 200,000 juveniles enter the adult criminal system each year, most for non-violent crimes.”
Here’s a portion of Malcolm Jenkins’ session with reporters. pic.twitter.com/LDZv9ZyrDg
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) June 6, 2018
Jenkins also used some of his signs to note the charity work that NFL athletes do. He reminded people that teammate Chris Long gave up his entire 2017 salary to educational initiatives, and that former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick donated $1 million to charities.
Malcolm Jenkins responded to questions today by holding up a series of signs. He did not speak. Here are a few. pic.twitter.com/I01lfMwVgq
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) June 6, 2018
Just a day before his media silent treatment, Jenkins released a statement on Twitter in response to Trump’s disinvitation.
#TheFightContinues pic.twitter.com/QWDdvZgQNL
— Malcolm Jenkins (@MalcolmJenkins) June 5, 2018
It looks like it’s going to be a long 92 days until the NFL regular season starts.
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