Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur: 'I want us to take action'

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GREEN BAY – Matt LaFleur and the Packers put football on the back burner this past week.


In the team's virtual meetings, there were far more discussions about social injustice and other racial issues than X's and O's.


It culminated, at least for now, in the team releasing a two-minute video with a call for change, in the wake of George Floyd's and other blacks' deaths at the hands of police, which have been followed by protests and riots that have roiled the country.


LaFleur, who spoke with local media via Zoom from his Lambeau Field office late Friday afternoon, indicated there's a determination among everyone involved the team's activism won't stop there.


"I think these are conversations that have to happen," LaFleur said. "I think right now the football can take a back seat to that. I have no problem (with that).


"What I want to have happen, I want us to take action and really try to come up with things that we can do to make a change for the better for everyone in this country. That's what needs to happen."


LaFleur added the players and coaches have begun brainstorming actionable ideas, and their discussions will remain ongoing. Right now there's still a lot of talking and listening, and LaFleur said he wants to eventually have a one-on-one conversation with every player on the roster to get his input.


He mentioned a lot of players already have shared painful stories and "they've been hurting for years." Listening has been educational for him, and for others on the team as well.