Rams invite Ferguson/Florissant high school football teams to preseason game

[CoachO]

Zack Cox

NESN

AUG 18, 2014 2:21p ET

Jasen Vinlove / USA TODAY Sports


High school football players in Ferguson, Mo., were invited to the Rams' preseason game vs. the Packers on Saturday.

With the situation in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Mo., still very much unsettled, the area's NFL team provided a respite from the tension for some of Ferguson's young athletes.

The Rams hosted the Green Bay Packers in a preseason game Saturday night, and the team invited the football teams from Ferguson's three high schools -- McCluer, McCluer North and McCluer South -- to join them at the Edward Jones Dome.

Seventy-five free tickets to the game were made available for each team, according to Robert Klemko of TheMMQB.com and Sports Illustrated.

"In light of everything going on it just kind of hit me," Rams manager of fan development and alumni relations Kyle Eversgerd told Klemko. "I can't imagine with all that stuff going on, how tough it must be to practice. We were able to get them away from it all."

USA Today's For the Win blog cites a Ferguson-Florissant School District spokesperson as saying the tickets went directly to the teams' head coaches, so it's unclear how many students got to go. But apparently at least some did attend, according to Klemko:

“It was overwhelming to see the NFL live, for real,” Klemko quotes senior running back Henry Jones as saying. “You saw how fast they played, and how they played together. I’ve been thinking about it ever since. I could actually see myself out there playing.”

Ferguson has been the site of ongoing protests since 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by a police officer last weekend. Those protests, while largely peaceful during daytime hours, have turned violent at night, including instances of looting and vandalism.

"Our kids are focused on this season," McCluer coach Mario MacDonald told Klemko. "But I worry about them out here, to be honest."

The Packers won the game --€” the second of the preseason for both teams -- 21-7.
http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/st-l ... ers-081814

 

[LazyWinker]

That's nice of the Rams to do.

 

[12intheBox]

Such fine lines to walk in a professional locker room. So many backgrounds, so many personalities. I'm sure a lot of the players grew up being - well let's just say scrutinized by the police (I wanted to say harassed but I'm not trying to start anything) Other players likely have law enforcement in their families and even if they don't - there may be some sense of law and order / civic patriotism that runs deep in some of these guys.

You certainly want to be leaders in the community, and the last thing you want to do is ignore the biggest crisis/opportunity your city has had in .... well, probably ever ....

I guess what I'm trying to say is - from the Rams perspective - the entire Ferguson thing could be a huge positive for this team or a huge negative. I have a ton of confidence that this coaching staff and front office will make sure that it's a positive.

It has been surreal for me, having gone to grade school in Ferguson -living in Normandy most of my young life to see this all play out on a world wide stage. I certainly have my opinions on the matter - and I have good friends on both sides of the issue. It has been a strain on some of those friendships, and I have seen it break apart some others.

 

[RamBill]

ESPN’s Nick Wagoner discusses the decision by the St. Louis Rams to provide football players from Ferguson area high schools with tickets to a Rams preseason game.

 

[LetsGoRams]

They should invite all of the police officers to the game.

 

[Athos]

They should invite all of the police officers to the game.

That'd go over real well. EJD would be the loudest it's ever been....that's for sure.