This Seahawks wide receiver just shut down critics of Colin Kaepernick's supporters

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin, joining his teammate Richard Sherman, breezed through the formalities at the start of his weekly press conference obligation.

“My health is good; barring setbacks, I’ll be playing in Sunday’s game,” he said. “49ers, we know, have new coaches, defense scheme. Blah blah blah. So I want to actually get to what I want to talk about today.”

In the next two minutes, Baldwin silenced any lingering criticism that athletes and others supporting Colin Kaepernick’s protest of the national anthem and racial injustice lacked specific policy demands with an in-depth, detailed call for greater accountability of police departments across the country.

His comments come as Charlotte, North Carolina, has erupted in violent protest over the death of another black man, Keith Lamont Scott, at the hands of police, and follows the killing of Terence Crutcher by a Tulsa, Oklahoma, police officer.

“This is not an indictment of our law enforcement agencies, I just want that to be clear,” Baldwin said. “We know that there’s a select few, a very minute few of law enforcement who are not abiding by those laws and policies. However, we also know there are laws and policies in place that are not correcting the issue in our society right now.”

He continued: “As an American, black male, in this country, I’m suggesting calling—I’m demanding, that all 50 state attorney generals call for a review of their policies and training policies for police and law enforcement to eliminate militaristic cultures while putting a higher emphasis on de-escalation tactics and crisis management measures.”

The full transcript can be read here:

Kaepernick will continue to protest the anthem; presumably, so will the dozen or so players that have already joined him.

Michael Rosen is a reporter for Fusion based out of Oakland.