Malcolm Jenkins and four other NFL players including, Anquan Boldin, Glover Quin, Josh McCown and Andrew Hawkins, spent Tuesday in Washington meeting with lawmakers to learn more about how to set policy changes into motion. The players met with Democratic congressmen Keith Ellison from Minnesota and Patrick Murphy from Florida. Other members of the Congressional Black Caucus and members of House Speaker Paul Ryan’s executive committee were there as well.Before making the trip, Jenkins told USA TODAY why he wanted to meet with lawmakers.“Moving forward, especially with the election, and now with having Donald Trump as president,” Jenkins said., “the biggest thing is teaching myself how this country works when it comes to laws and policies. That’s the biggest thing because there are a lot of different things that need to be worked on.”Jenkins has done his part to take a stand against the racial injustices that exist in this country by raising his right fist during the National Anthem before games. His actions have not stopped there.
The veteran safety is heavily involved in multiple communities including, New Orleans, New Jersey, Ohio, and Philadelphia. Jenkins feels it is mandatory to do more than just protest before games.“The biggest thing is it’s important for guys to step up and actually do stuff because the world is waiting for us to forget about it,” Jenkins said. “Once you cause the commotion and you raise this red flag, you can’t just walk away from it. Donating money and all that stuff is cool as well, but people want to see us get involved and really be a part of the change we’re so loudly proclaiming needs to happen.“It’s one of those things where it’s like, ‘OK if you want me to invest my time and you’re telling me this is something that needs to be changed, well, you invest and I’ll match what you put in.’ If all we do is take a knee or raise our fist and then cut a check, then nobody is really going to help or believe in the cause that we’re trying to fight so hard for.”
