CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Bengals president Mike Brown met with select players on Friday morning after they requested an audience with the franchise’s top executive to speak about social and racial injustice.
The player-comprised Positive Impact Committee met with coaches, team personnel and the entire Brown family for a socially-distanced, in-person meeting that lasted nearly an hour.
“It was something that a lot of guys, we just wanted to meet with him and talk to him about our ideas,” center Trey Hopkins said after Friday’s practice. “The fact that ownership would come and listen and be receptive about something that is important to their players I think speaks a lot to how much they truly care about the players and the organization as a whole.”
Hopkins said the players’ request to speak with Brown was made Thursday. The meeting came at the end of a week in which a couple of key players voiced the importance of having team ownership involved in conversations regarding racial inequality and social injustice.
On Monday, Bengals defensive end Carlos Dunlap said he wanted to hear from Brown on the topic. Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green issued similar comments later in the week when he emphasized alignment throughout the entire organization on those issues.
“I don’t want them to check the box,” Dunlap said on Monday, one day after Jacob Blake was shot by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. “I want them to do something they are passionate about. That way, they’re physically and emotionally invested in it as we all are. I just wanted to have that conversation with him personally, one-on-one.”
Bengals coach Zac Taylor said the team was scheduled to have more discussions on the topic after Friday morning’s practice and will likely issue additional public comment by the end of the weekend.