Jaguars' Chris Conley Calls For NFL QBs to Fight Injustice, Become Advocates For Change

Jacksonville's veteran wide receiver Chris Conley knows that NFL quarterbacks are the face of the league and can promote the most change, and now he wants them to act upon it.

*attached video is from June 5*

In today's climate, the operations of sports leagues are becoming increasingly player-run. For example, look no further than the NBA, in which the players continue to demonstrate that they hold the power, not the teams, owners or league. 

Players demonstrated such power this week when the Milwaukee Bucks decided as a team to not play against the Orlando Magic in Wednesday's playoff game due to the shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man who was shot seven times by police in Kenosha, Wis. As a result, numerous other NBA games were postponed, along with games from the WNBA, MLS and MLB. 

But while athletes in the NBA, WNBA and other leagues are able to use their platforms to promote change and fight against social and racial injustice, the NFL is still playing catchup to a degree. For that very reason, it is hard to truly know if the NFL would come to a halt during their season at the request of the players like the other leagues did. 

That is one question Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Chris Conley pondered during a video press conference on Thursday. When asked if he believed NFL players would push for similar stoppages in play in the hypothetical event of another shooting or act of police brutality, Conley was blunt, truthful and, in many ways, right.

“The difference between the NFL and other major league sports machines throughout the country is that they’re looking for your replacement here at all times and they will replace you and the show will go on without you," Conley said. 

"And until the people in the NFL who are irreplaceable decide that they’re going to step back and they’re going to hang it up for a week, two weeks, whatever it may be, I don’t foresee that happening. I think you have great leaders in this league, you have guys who have a voice and who want to be heard and who are willing to make that sacrifice. I believe I’m one of them. But until those figures who are the face of the league decide that and people rally behind them, I don’t think you see that, I don’t think you see that from us."

Conley would go on to note that he wishes he could speak with confidence about the leadership of the league, its players and its ability to unite to advocate for change. But until the stars of the NFL start to act like the stars of the other leagues, with Conley specifically naming LeBron James and Steph Curry as examples, it may be hard to see tangible change, Conley noted.

“I don't necessarily have that confidence in those people in that position, and that's unfortunate. You see the leaders and the people in the other leagues stand up and say they're sitting down,” Conley said.

"Those are the guys who are at the top of their game, the face of the league. The same thing would need to happen in the NFL for that to happen. Until then, I'm not sure.”

Conley knows he isn't necessarily asking for something that may be easy to all. In the NFL, very few players can compare to quarterbacks when it comes to both the scales of the platforms and job security. 

The star quarterbacks of the league -- such as Tom Brady, Russell Wilson, Patrick Mahomes, Drew Brees and others -- are in different circumstances, however. They are not young players who are fighting each and every day to make an NFL team. Instead, they have solidified places in the league and sports world as a whole. 

"I understand how painstakingly hard it’s going to be for those guys, because of the position that they’re in. But if a statement is going to be made by this league, in solidarity, and everyone is standing up, it’s got to start with them," Conley said. 

"If we’re going to put pressure on the people in this country who make change for accountability, it’s got to start with them.”

Conley acknowledges that any star player or quarterback using their platform and power in the same manner as stars in other leagues would take "a hell of a lot of courage," but it doesn't make it any less important for them to let their voices be heard. 

For change to take place in the NFL now and in the future, it will have to be ignited by the players. And the players who have the widest reach are, of course, stars and franchise quarterbacks.

"So, what would it take? It would take someone of notoriety standing up and calling on other people of notoriety and saying ‘Hey we want to get something done. Let’s talk. Let’s find this message. Let’s find the actionable things that people can do to change and let’s put pressure on them right now. Let’s put pressure on them right now in any way that we can. Let’s use the platform while we have it, because this isn’t forever," Conley said. 

"The platform—we won’t have this platform forever. Not everyone will care forever, so they’ve got to use it. Because his voice isn’t quite the same as mine, it’s not the same. They say in this league things are fair but not equal. And that’s just how it is. With the quarterbacks, it’s fair, but it’s not equal. They have that power and we can challenge them to use it, to champion other peoples’ voices.”