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          Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti voices support for black players

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          Ravens owner speaks up in support of black players (2:02)

          Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti collaborates with Ravens players and other employees to create a video for twitter in support of black players. (2:02)

          • Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff WriterJun 13, 2020, 01:10 PM
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              Jamison Hensley is a reporter covering the Baltimore Ravens for ESPN. Jamison joined ESPN in 2011, covering the AFC North before focusing exclusively on the Ravens beginning in 2013. Jamison won the National Sports Media Association Maryland Sportswriter of the Year award in 2018, and he authored a book titled: Flying High: Stories of the Baltimore Ravens. He was the Ravens beat writer for the Baltimore Sun from 2000-2011.
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          Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti said he would be "the worst kind of hypocrite" if he didn't speak out about social injustice.

          In a 10-minute video released by the team on Twitter Friday, Bisciotti was among the 20 people in the organization who called for the end of racial inequality in the country.

          "Ask the questions, ask the uncomfortable questions, and you will come to the conclusion, I hope, that I have," Bisciotti said at the end of the video. "That you don't feel it enough and you don't live it enough if you're not willing to say it: Black lives matter."

          Bisciotti is the latest NFL owner to voice support for black players, joining the Jacksonville Jaguars' Shad Khan, New Orleans Saints' Gayle Benson, Atlanta Falcons' Arthur Blank and Tennessee Titans' Amy Adams Strunk.

          Earlier this month, Bisciotti pledged $1 million for social justice reform in the Baltimore area. A committee of current and former Ravens players will determine which programs will directly benefit from the contribution.

          "I don't think I've grown by seeing their anger. I think I've grown by feeling their hurt," Bisciotti said. "And these young men are hurting. To say 'Stick to sports' is the worst possible thing you can feel and say."

          Several Ravens players have voiced their frustration on social media since George Floyd, a black man, was killed in Minneapolis on May 25 after police officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, kneeled on Floyd's neck for more than eight minutes.

          Friday's video featured black and white players from the team addressing police brutality and systemic racism and represented the franchise's strongest public statement in advocating for change.

          "I feel like we all need to come together and learn from one another because I feel the world would be more peaceful," reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson said. "You never know what you can learn from one another."

          In the video, Bisciotti said he felt "sick" and "angry" in watching the videotapes of the deaths of Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, who was killed while jogging on Feb. 23 after an encounter with two white men. Bisciotti mentioned he has participated in virtual meetings with players about issues involving racism and social injustice.

          "If my players, both white and black, don't speak out about this injustice to their communities, then they're considered sellouts or hypocrites," Bisciotti said. "If I don't defend my players, then I'm the worst kind of hypocrite."