St. Louis Rams Protest Ferguson Decision With 'Hands Up'

St. Louis Rams Protest Ferguson Decision With 'Hands Up'

AP| By By R.B. FALLSTROM

Posted: 11/30/2014 7:26 pm EST

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/30/rams-ferguson-hands-up_n_6245294.html

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Before trotting onto the field for their pregame introductions, five St. Louis Rams players stood with their hands raised in a show of compassion and solidarity for Ferguson protesters.

"I just think there has to be a change," tight end Jared Cook said after the Rams' 52-0 rout over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday. "There has to be a change that starts with the people that are most influential around the world.

"No matter what happened on that day, no matter how the whole situation went down, there has to be a change."

Coach Jeff Fisher said he'd not been aware the gesture had been planned by the players, all of them black.

Wide receivers Tavon Austin and Kenny Britt came out together first, with the move obscured by a smoke machine in the upper reaches of the Edward Jones Dome. Cook, Stedman Bailey and Chris Givens then came out and stood together with hands raised in the fog.

Some witnesses said Michael Brown had his hands up before being fatally shot by police officer Darren Wilson in August. Brown had been unarmed.

"I don't want the people in the community to feel like we turned a blind eye to it," Britt said. "What would I like to see happen? Change in America."

After Tre Mason scored on an 8-yard run to make it 45-0 in the fourth quarter, he and Britt raised their hands together.

"It touched a lot of us. It added fuel to our fire," Mason said.

Cook said players have been too busy to go to Ferguson, plus "it's kind of dangerous down there and none of us want to get caught up in anything."

"It takes some guts, it takes some heart, so I admire the people around the world that have been doing it," he added.

Across the street from the stadium, about 75 protesters gathered in the second half as about 30 police wearing riot gear watched from a distance. Protesters chanted "Hands up, don't shoot!" ''No justice, no football!" ''This is what democracy looks like," and "We're here for Mike Brown."

Missouri state government

Jay Nixon is the Missouri state government governor, and a director at Achieve Inc.

Note: Achieve Inc. helped develop the Common Core educational standards.

Joyce Foundation was a funder for Achieve Inc., the Brookings Institution (think tank), and the Aspen Institute (think tank).

Valerie B. Jarrett was a director at the Joyce Foundation, is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, Vernon E. Jordan Jr’s great niece, and the senior adviser for the Barack Obama administration.

Cyrus F. Freidheim Jr. is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for Brookings Institution (think tank), Center for American Progress, and the Aspen Institute (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, and a supporter for the Center for American Progress.

Vernon E. Jordan Jr. is Valerie B. Jarrett’s great uncle, an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), a senior counsel for Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP, and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).

Jose H. Villarreal is a senior adviser at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP, a director at the Center for American Progress, and was a director at the Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP was a funder for the Center for American Progress.

Ezekiel Emanuel is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, Ari Emanuel & Rahm I. Emanuel’s brother, and was the health care policy adviser for the Barack Obama administration.

Ari Emanuel is Ezekiel Emanuel & Rahm I. Emanuel’s brother, and a co-founder for Americans for Fuel Efficient Cars.

Arianna Huffington is a co-founder for Americans for Fuel Efficient Cars, and the co-founder & editor-in-chief for the Huffington Post.

Rahm I. Emanuel is Ezekiel Emanuel & Ari Emanuel’s brother, a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, the Chicago (IL) mayor, and was the White House chief of staff for the Barack Obama administration, and the candidate for the 2011 Rahm Emanuel mayoral campaign.

Shahid R. Khan was a major contributor for the 2011 Rahm Emanuel mayoral campaign, and an unsuccessful bidder for the St. Louis Rams.

E. Stanley Kroenke is the majority owner & chairman for the St. Louis Rams, and married to Ann Kroenke.

Ann Kroenke is married to E. Stanley Kroenke, James L. Walton’s daughter, and part-owner in the JL Walton Trust.

James L. Walton was Ann Kroenke & Nancy Walton Laurie’s father, and a co-founder for the Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Nancy Walton Laurie is James L. Walton’s daughter, part-owner in the JL Walton Trust, and was the owner of the St. Louis Blues.

Stephen Friedman was a director at the Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).  

James S. Crown is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Lester Crown was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

R. Eden Martin is the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.

Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.

Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.   

Newton N. Minow is a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and an honorary trustee at the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank), the Center for American Progress, the Aspen Institute (think tank), and Achieve Inc.

Jay Nixon is a director at Achieve Inc., and the Missouri state government governor.