There has been no shortage of NFL players who have expressed their sadness, frustration and anger, etc., in response to the death of George Floyd, who died after being pinned to the ground by the knee of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for eight minutes and 23 seconds, but we had yet to hear from a coach.

That changed Friday afternoon when Brian Flores, one of two black head coaches currently employed by the league, released a powerful statement calling for others to come out and speak up about the story with the same outrage that fueled the Colin Kaepernick debates and the push back on the proposal that would have incentivized NFL teams to hire minority coaching and front office candidates.

“I vividly remember the Colin Kaepernick conversations,” Flores wrote. “‘Don’t ever disrespect the flag’ was the phrase that I heard over and over again. This idea that players were kneeling in support of social justice was something some people couldn’t wrap their head around. The outrage that I saw in the media and the anger I felt in some of my own private conversations cause me to sever a few long-standing friendships. Most recently, I’ve had conversations about incentivizing teams for hiring minorities. Again, there was some outrage in the media and talks that would cause division amongst coaches, executives and ownership. I bring these situations up because I haven’t seen the same OUTRAGE from people of influence when the conversation turns to Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and most recently George Floyd. Many people who broadcast their opinions on kneeling or on the hiring of minorities don’t seem to have an opinion on the recent murders of these young black men and women.”

Any NFL coach using their platform to speak out against police brutality and the systematic racism that allows it to persist should be commended. That’s especially true for a black man in a profession that doesn’t give people who look like him much leeway. Hopefully other coaches and prominent executives will follow his lead and speak out against these injustices. This very flawed country has given them ample opportunities to do so over the last few years alone. Maybe Floyd’s very public death will get them to do so.

It’s refreshing, if not a bit surprising, that this message is coming from the coach of the team that traded away Kenny Stills a year ago after he called out team owner Stephen Ross for holding a fundraiser for the Trump campaign.

And after Stills criticized Jay-Z for striking a deal with the league after backing Kaepernick for years, Flores blasted Jay-Z’s music at practice in an effort to “challenge” Stills. He was traded to Houston a week later.

But there were no bizarre coaching strategies or motives in the statement Flores released. Just a man who is fed up and right fully so.

As we heard over and over again during the endless debates over Kaepernick and why he wasn’t in the league — as if the answer wasn’t obvious — NFL coaches try to avoid anything that could be seen as a distraction. Flores seems to be welcoming the distraction in this case, and he should not be alone.

If NFL coaches want to show their players — who are overwhelmingly black and have to live in fear everyday that they will be the next George Floyd or Ahmaud Abery or Michael Brown or any of the countless black men and women who have been murdered by police — they will follow Flores’ lead.

The players have done their part in the face of scrutiny from fans, media and even the White House. It’s time for their coaches to step up.

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