Malcolm Jenkins' Signs Talk for Him on Nixed Eagles' White House Visit

Malcolm Jenkins of the Philadelphia Eagles let handwritten signs do the talking Wednesday when he was questioned by reporters about President Donald Trump canceling the Super Bowl champions' trip to the White House this week, ESPN reported.

The Eagles safety known for his community service work in the Philadelphia area held up signs related to social justice issues and social service work done by NFL players when he was quizzed by journalists about the cancellation, the sports network said.

According to Philly.com instead of verbally addressing questions, Jenkins displayed signs that stated:

• "You aren't listening"
• "More than 60 percent of people in prison are people of color"
• "Nearly 200,000 juveniles enter the adult criminal system each year, most for non-violent crimes #stopschoolpipelinetoprison"
• "In 2018, 439 people shot and killed by police (thus far); In U.S. Pop. – 8 percent African-American males; Shot by police – 25 percent African-American males"
• "Any given night, 500,000 sit in jail; Convicted? No; Too poor? Yes"
• "True Patriots: Anquan Boldin, Doug Baldwin, Richard Sherman, Devin McCourty, Josh Norman, Chris Long, Torrey Smith, Rodney McLeod. Michael Bennett, Ben Watson, Demario Davis, Carl Davis, Kelvin Beachum, Matt Slater, Josh McCown, Duron Harmon, Johnson Bademosi"
• "Ben Watson and Demario Davis helped push through La. House Bill 265 Restoring voting rights for returning citizens"
• "Devin McCourty, Duron Harmon, Matt Slater and Johnson Bademosi lobbied to raise the age from 7 to 12 entering the criminal justice system"
• "Colin Kaepernick donated $1 million to charity"
• "Chris Long gave his entire year's salary to educational initiatives"

Eagles coach Doug Pederson said little about the controversy, saying that he was looking forward to the trip to meet Trump but adding that the story was over and he was focused on practice Wednesday, Philly.com reported.

Jenkins broke his silence verbally Wednesday evening after a meeting with public defenders around the country, ESPN said.

"I'm tired of the narrative being about the anthem, about the White House or whatever," Jenkins told reporters, per ESPN. "The issues are the issues. And the reason that we're doing any of this is because we have these huge disparities in our criminal justice system; we have this issue of mass incarceration; we have issues of police brutality; our children and access to education and economic advancement is nonexistent in communities of color. And these things are systemic; there are ways that we can change them.

"And for me, I feel like this is the time to do that. And so, that message can't continue to be ignored. And that's what I think has been happening up until this point. So, we just have to continue to stay on topic and continue to push the issues -- and not this narrative of who's right and who's wrong, but what are the reasons why players are even so passionate about this," Jenkins continued.

The NFL last month established a new policy requiring players to stand if they are on the field during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner," giving them the option of staying in the locker room.

The league has been trying to find an answer for the protest started in 2016 by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who to took a knee during the national anthem to protest racial injustice. That silent protest spread to other players in the league.

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