By Gregg Bell

McClatchy News Service

RENTON — The players had already voted not to practice.

Now they are voting for change.

Pete Carroll walked in front of a video camera with a Seahawks-logoed background. He took off his mask.

He then looked into the camera and told a Zoom audience of media and fans: “I’m going to talk to you guys about something that’s on my heart.”

For more than 14 minutes, Seattle’s 68-year-old coach didn’t say one word about football or training camp or the upcoming opening game just two weeks and one day away.

He described the pain and fear Black people, including his Seahawks players, live in daily (as of June, 70 of the 90 players on the team were Black men). He described the most immediate action they are taking for change. They all chose to be 100 percent registered to vote for Election Day instead of practicing Saturday.

Likening it to the March on Washington headlined by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, Carroll called for “60 days to march, a commitment to vote” by every, single American eligible to on Nov. 3.

Carroll spoke specifically to white Americans. He demanded people listen to Black people.

“They are crying out,” Carroll said. “Black people know the truth. They know exactly what is going on. It’s white people that don’t know.

“It’s not that they’re not telling us. They’ve been telling us the stories. We know what’s right and what’s wrong. We just have not been open to listen to it. We’ve been unwilling to accept the real history, and been taught a false history of what happened in this country. We have been basing things on false premises. And it has not been about equality for all. …

“This is a humanity issue that we are dealing with. This is a white-people’s issue to get over it and learn what’s going on, and figure it out the issue to get over. And start loving. Everybody. …

“Our players are screaming at us: ‘Can you feel me? Can you see me? Can you hear me?’ They just want to be respected. They just want to be accepted, just like all of our white families and children want to be. It’s no different, because we are all the same.

“White people don’t know. They don’t know enough. And they need to be coached up. They need to be educated about what the heck is going on in this world.

“The Black people can’t scream any more. They can’t march any more. They can’t bare their souls any more to what they’ve lived with for hundreds of years.”

“Can you imagine how long Black people have hung together with the faith and the hope that something’s going to change and it’s going to be better?” Carroll said. “Unbelievable endurance, unbelievable competitiveness, to just keep hanging. I’m so moved by all of that. I cannot imagine how they’ve been able to do it under these circumstances. They’ve been terrible. But they are still hangin’, and they are still hoping.

“Racism’s going, out the door. It’s got to be gone. It’s got to be out the frickin’ door, and get rid of it. It’s got to GO. And we’ve got to figure out the way to get that done.”

It was one of the more extraordinary press conferences one will ever see in the NFL.

All-Pro safety Jamal Adams went online after Carroll’s message to thank him and his new team for listening.

Adams posted on Twitter: “Big thank you to Coach Pete, [General Manager] John Schneider & the entire Seahawks organization for really hearing us as Black athletes. This is a special place, like I’ve said before where everyone’s willing to learn and understand that wrong is wrong, and right is right.”

Ted S. Warren/The Associated Press Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll spoke at length about race during training camp Saturday in Renton.

Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll briefly pulls down his face covering during NFL football training camp, Monday, Aug. 24, 2020, in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, Pool)