Chargers’ coach Anthony Lynn said he’s “pissed off” and doesn’t just want to “put out a pretty statement” following the death of George Floyd.
“I don’t want to just put [a statement] out there because it’s the right thing to do,” the NFL head coach told the Los Angeles Times in a piece published Tuesday. (RELATED: Minneapolis 3rd Police Precinct On Fire After Officers Evacuate Building Amid George Floyd Riots)
View this post on Instagram
“I want change,” he added. “So I guess it starts with having this conversation and talking things out. In 1992 I remember watching L.A. burn and here we are in 2020 and I’m watching it again and it just hit me, nothing has changed.” (RELATED: Video Surfaces Of Police Officer With Knee On Man’s Throat, Man Later Died)
Lynn continued, while noting that he felt he hadn’t done anything to make “this a better place for” his son and how he was “scared” because he wants to “do something,” but doesn’t “know what that is.”
The Chargers‘ coach said he not only wants it be a a better world for his son but for “the next generation and not just for minorities, but for everybody.”
“I believe in diversity, I believe in inclusion and if you believe in that, you can’t just stand silent,” he added. “You can’t just stand on the sidelines and just watch. You got to say something, man.”
Lynn continued, while explaining what really has “bothered” him since Floyd’s death, the man who died while in the custody of a Minneapolis police officer.
“The thing that bothered me the most about [the] George Floyd murder was the three officers that said nothing.,” Anthony shared. “The guy who did it, yeah, he’s a [expletive], but the three who stood by and did absolutely nothing … I’m just stunned by that. I see that going on in every organization. I see good people saying nothing and doing nothing, allowing this to happen.”
At one point, the conversation turned to Colin Kaepernick and the NFL coach said people just flat out “misunderstood Colin and what he was trying to do.”
“People talked about disrespecting the flag . . . the flag covers a lot — patriotism and civil rights and other things,” the coach said. “And Colin was speaking out against the injustice and a lot of people didn’t catch on to that because it was happening during the national anthem.”
“A lot of people didn’t catch on as to why he took a knee,” he added. “I understood and applauded him for it. At the same time, I’m never going to take a knee during the national anthem because I have an uncle that was a Marine and a father that is a vet. ”
The NFL coach continued, while explaining that when he stands “for the national anthem, I think of them. I think of the people who died for the rights and liberties I have right now and I give them that respect.”
“But this stuff that’s taking place with police brutality and unarmed black men dying and white people feeling like they can use their privilege to threaten black people like that white woman did in Central Park, that’s ridiculous,” Lynn said. “How do we effect that type of change? Where’s the accountability for that kind of [expletive]? That’s where I’m at right now. I’m angry, I’m pissed off and I don’t want to just put out a pretty statement.”