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On Thursday morning, the Players Coalition sent a letter to Congress to support a bill that would effectively terminate qualified immunity for police officers. The bill, which was originally composed by U.S. Representatives Justin Amash (L-Mich.), and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), would make officers less protected if accused of acts of brutality and snuff out the doctrine of qualified immunity created in 1967.
The letter consisted of well over 1,000 signatures from current and former athletes and coaches of the NFL, NBA, MLB. Of those names, three current Bengals players have signed in support of the Amash-Pressley Ending Qualified Immunity Act:
- Joe Burrow
- Akeem Davis-Gaither
- Jordan Evans
Along with those three, several former members of the Bengals’ organization have also put forth their signatures:
- Andrew Billings
- Chris Carter
- Will Clarke
- Brayden Coombs
- Jake Elliott
- Malik Jefferson
- Kevin Kaesviharn
- Tony McRae
- LaRoy Reynolds
- KeiVarae Russell
- Mohamed Sanu
- Takeo Spikes
Burrow is the most relevant name listed here, and his support against racial injustices here helps support the statement he made two weeks ago regarding the matter.
Davis-Gaither, a fellow rookie like Burrow, and Evans deserve recognition as well, along with plenty of other notable names that once put on a Bengals uniform. The lone coach listed here is Coombs, who recently left Cincinnati to become the special teams coordinator for the Detroit Lions.
The Bengals also recently released a statement following team meetings that featured open discussions about police brutality and systemic racism.