Former Cardinals feel racism in how they worry for their children
Jun 1, 2020, 5:25 PM
Former NFL offensive lineman Max Starks. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
As protests and riots continue across the United States (and the world) in response to the death of George Floyd, the conversation surrounding police brutality specifically towards black people is everywhere.
As you can imagine, that can lead to some younger minds latching onto some big-time real world problems.
Former Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman Max Starks, a black man, spoke on an issue he ran into as a parent while out getting food with his family before the 8 p.m. curfew was underway Sunday night.
Starks went into a local eatery to grab some food to-go, and in came nearly a dozen police officers as well. He had lighthearted exchanges with them before leaving with his food, but was unaware of how his daughters in his truck were viewing it until he got back to the car.
“My daughters are like cheering for me, and I’m like, ‘Girls, why are you cheering?’ (And they said), ‘You didn’t get killed, dad,'” he said to Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta Monday. “It’s like, whoa, we need to have a conversation.
“And it broke my heart because you don’t think you have to have that conversation with a 5- and a 7-year-old but because of what they’ve seen, what they’ve heard on the radio, and seen on television for us as adults trying to be aware of what’s going on and trying to be in touch — my daughters saw it as cops kill people that look like me.”
Former Cardinals linebacker Lorenzo Alexander, also a black man, spoke on how he has to worry about his son, despite even living in a nice part of the Valley.
“I’ve been angry, I’ve been sad, I’ve been scared … I have two sons. And I live in Paradise Valley,” he said on Arizona Sports’ Doug & Wolf Monday.
“My son rolled off the other day amongst all this and I couldn’t see him on his bike and my first inclination is not, ‘Oh, he’s gonna be OK.’ It’s let me jump in my truck and go check on him. You just never know if somebody is going to see him in a way that he shouldn’t be seen.”
