It wasn’t how he performed on the field that made the Bengals accept Joe Burrow, but instead, a speech about racial injustice – well before Super Bowl 2022.
A former Bengals employee discussed a moving moment in the summer of 2020 in which Burrow “won the team over” during a team meeting by sharing an emotional story about a black teammate of his while playing high school basketball in Athens, Ohio.
During a game, spectators began yelling racial slurs at Burrow’s friend. The 25-year-old quarterback recalled being taken aback and upset over what had occurred, comforting his teammate at the back of the team bus following the matchup.
Burrow finished off the story by saying how witnessing that racist behavior made him commit to fighting against racial injustice.
Joe Burrow spoke out against racial injustice during a team meeting in summer 2020. Getty Images“[Burrow] kind of broke down talking about it,” defensive tackle D.J. Reader said. “He’s a guy who stood there and he supported his friend as he should because you know it’s not right. As a person it meant a lot to hear how he stood up for him. [Racism] is not something he’s not just now learning.”
The young quarterback’s speech came amid a time of national turmoil. That May, George Floyd was murdered by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, and protests calling for racial justice broke out across the United States. These national conversations extended into the sports world and teams discussed racism in the United States, advocated for policy reform and even boycotted playing until changes were enacted.
Joe Burrow began speaking out against racial injustice in high school. Louie Fish/Athens Messenger“He won the team over real quick — every leader has that moment,” the former Bengals staffer said.
Reader, who is Black, said that it felt “good to hear from someone on the opposite side” speak out against racial injustice during the meeting and added that Burrow “stands on what he says.”
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Burrow’s father, Jim, repeated similar sentiments. He said that the “heartbreaking” incident his son’s teammate experienced caused a young Burrow to view the world differently and become passionate about stopping racial injustice.
“I think it opened his eyes that something like that could happen,” Jim said “For us, just the normal core values we grew up with: Always show respect, treat people with respect no matter who they are, what their background is, and be willing to help others when you can.”
