Update: Packers Cancel Thursday’s Practice

The Green Bay Packers decided to cancel Thursday’s practice in the wake of the shooting of Jacob Blake by police in Kenosha, Wis.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers decided to cancel Thursday’s practice in the wake of the shooting of Jacob Blake by police in Kenosha, Wis.

About an hour before the scheduled 10:30 a.m. start, the team announced practice had been postponed. Just after 11:30 a.m., the team instead announced it had canceled practice and coach Matt LaFleur would talk to reporters via Zoom at 12:30 p.m.

The Packers are one of several teams to cancel practice so players and team officials can discuss steps they can take to help bring change.

LaFleur and quarterback Aaron Rodgers spoke passionately on Monday about the shooting of Blake on Sunday night. The incident, coming about three months after a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd, has sparked another round of unrest, rioting and deep conversations across the nation, including the sports world.

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“It’s amazing to me that this is still happening,” LaFleur said in an opening statement after Monday’s practice following a lengthy meeting with his leadership council. “So, wanted to get our guys’ perspective, and try to float around some ideas on how we can make a difference and use our platform, because things have to change. The social injustice, the police brutality, the antiquated laws, just got to bring awareness to everybody that black lives matter. We can’t stand for this any longer.”

Of talks with his team leaders, LaFleur said, "I think we’re all kind of brainstorming right now and making sure we take the necessary steps to see some positive change."

The Packers, coming off a stretch of four consecutive days of practices, had a scheduled off-day on Wednesday.

On Wednesday night, the Milwaukee Bucks decided to boycott their playoff game against the Orlando Magic. From there, the rest of the day’s playoff games were postponed and the fate of today’s games has not been determined. 

“Over the last few days in our home state of Wisconsin, we’ve seen the horrendous video of Jacob Blake being shot in the back seven times by a police officer in Kenosha, and the additional shooting of protestors," Bucks players said in a statement. “Despite the overwhelming plea for change, there has been no action, so our focus today cannot be on basketball.

“When we take the court and represent Milwaukee and Wisconsin, we are expected to play at a high level, give maximum effort and hold each other accountable. We hold ourselves to that standard, and in this moment, we are demanding the same from our lawmakers and law enforcement.”

After the Bucks’ decision to not play, the Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds agreed to not play; they’ll play a doubleheader today, instead.

Now, it's the Packers taking a pause.

“There’s a systemic problem, and until the problem is fixed, this is going to be an all-too-common sighting in this country,” Rodgers said on Monday. “It obviously hits home being not far from Green Bay. I’m not going to comment directly on the video until more facts come out but, obviously, it’s something where as a non-police officer, I think a lot of us naturally question when lethal force is necessary.

“Again, I think that goes to a systematic problem that needs to be addressed at some point. There’s antiquated laws that are prejudicial against people of color in this state. I think the governor and the folks at the Capitol need to take a hard look at some of those systems that are in place. I think the way that we’re training our police officers, again, I know a ton of them, a lot of them have traveled with us over the years. I’ve been pulled over a couple of times and had nice interactions, which aren’t the norm for everybody on this squad.”

The Browns, Jets, Titans, Cardinals and Washington Football Team have canceled their practices. The Packers and Bears were among teams to postpone. The Cowboys, led by former Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy, did practice. McCarthy's family still lives in the area.

"Sports is supposed to be a great escape,'' McCarthy told reporters. "(But) you can’t escape what’s going on right now. We’ve got major, major challenges in our society right now that need to be addressed."