At the start of the week, Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Gerald McCoy did not know Opal Lee’s story. After a WebEx call with her earlier in the week, McCoy will walk 2.5 miles near his Oklahoma home on Friday as Lee continues her fight to make Juneteenth a national holiday.
Lee, 93, a retired school teacher, will begin her second walk from Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington, D.C., in the past four years on Friday in her attempt to get Juneteenth recognized.
McCoy took to Instagram on Thursday to challenge current and former teammates to get involved.
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“I’m so glad she brought awareness to this — that’s why it’s so great, that’s why I’m trying to spread as much about this as possible so this becomes regular on Juneteenth, walk 2.5 miles to commemorate the two and a half years the slaves didn’t know they were free,” McCoy told ESPN. “This is something I’m going to continue and be glad to continue. Even when it becomes a national holiday, I’ll do even more then.”
Juneteenth celebrated the official ending of slavery when Gen. Gordon Granger read orders on June 19, 1865, in Galveston, Texas, that all slaves were free some 18 months after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on Jan. 1, 1863.
“Our true independence as African Americans, our true day of freedom should be celebrated nationally,” McCoy said. “Independence Day is celebrated nationally, but that envelope was not pushed since that didn’t free everybody, that wasn’t about everybody. The Emancipation Proclamation was finalized in 1863, but it wasn’t until 1865 that all slaves in Texas realized that we are free. That should be celebrated nationally.”
McCoy said the reaction to his challenge has been overwhelmingly positive. He said he believes some teammates will be with Lee in Fort Worth, but some will do the walk wherever they are, since the Cowboys’ offseason program has ended.
“With all that’s going on, I think everybody is doing their part,” he said. “This is just me trying to do my part, which is creating change. It’s time. It’s been this way for too long. We can use our voices. I’m not speaking for me. I’m not speaking for other celebrities. I’m speaking for the voices that people don’t hear. I’m speaking for the people that don’t have the platform to say what they want to say. That’s why it’s vital people are listening.”
Last week, the NFL announced the league office would observe Juneteenth and since then more than 20 teams, including the Cowboys, did the same.
“It’s better late than never, and it’s a start,” McCoy said. “Forty-seven of 50 states recognize it regionally, but it’s not a national holiday. States have pushed that through, but it’s an optional thing. It’s not pushed as a national holiday. … The NFL recognizing it and the more teams that start recognizing it, it’s just a start. I don’t think people should expect change overnight. Now the process has started. You’ve got to keep going. It’s like building a championship team. The Kansas City Chiefs didn’t all of a sudden become a championship team. It took the right coach. It took the right quarterback, putting the pieces together and then they became a championship team. It takes baby steps.”
McCoy said the public nature of George Floyd’s death as a Minnesota police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes made “people realize that had been happening and you’re just now seeing it.” He said his older children reacted more in a “here we go again” way than in a “horrific way.”
The protests that have come about since the deaths of Floyd, Breanna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery have raised awareness of racism and systemic oppression.
“It’s a shame a tragedy like this had to happen for people to open eyes,” he said.
The Cowboys put out a video statement about putting an end to racial injustice, but owner and general manager Jerry Jones has not put out an independent statement yet.
“You have the players, who have their own brand, but we’re all under the umbrella of the Dallas Cowboys,” McCoy said. “The Dallas Cowboys are the most recognized franchise in the world. They can get behind it, whether it’s the players or just being in the movement, period, and showing their support. It would be great to hear a statement from the Cowboys, great to hear a statement from Jerry Jones in support of everything that’s going on. Will that get me in trouble saying that? I don’t know, but the truth is it needs to be said. The problem is people are afraid to have the conversations.”
McCoy praised coach Mike McCarthy, who gave the players the opportunity to speak during the virtual meetings.
“You can’t ask for anything better than to bring unity to your team,” McCoy said. “He didn’t do it where he was thinking, ‘I don’t need my team to be separated in order to win a championship.’ Coach McCarthy did it with the mindset of, ‘Well, shoot, my eyes weren’t even open, so the more we talk about it today, the more you bring it up, the more I can learn and the more we can do it as a unit.’ He wants the Dallas Cowboys to be the example of how we should come together and push for change. I’m so proud to be one of his players, giving us the opportunity to say what everybody needed to say. He was open and honest.”
