“We needed our focus elsewhere,” Brewers GM Stearns expresses support for player protest

Milwaukee Brewers General Manager David Stearns is expressing his support for the players who refused to play on Wednesday as part of a protest over the shooting of Jacob Blake.

“I think what we saw was a day where certainly our players and sports in general realized that as a country, as a fan base and as a community, we needed our focus elsewhere,” Stearns told WTMJ on Thursday.

“As the afternoon went on, and the discussion around the NBA amplified, I think a number of our players felt strongly that we should not play [Wednesday] night.”

Stearns said the players had a “relatively quick” conversation and unanimously decided it would be best to postpone the game.

He also emphasized the importance of furthering the conversation, even when players start to play again.

“What we have to do right now is engage. We have to talk about it and understand that the status quo is not acceptable and then move forward to create real and lasting change.

Part of creating that “real and lasting change” is continuing to have difficult conversations, according to Stearns.

“This is not something that is going to change overnight. One act of solidarity does not change a system that has been going on for years,” Stearns said.

“But if we continue to stack acts on top of each other, if we continue to provide forums for open, honest dialogue, then hopefully we will see incremental change and we will see progress.”

Stearns was a guest during Brewers 360 on Wisconsin’s Morning News.