Washington’s Chase Young, NFL teammates testify in support of police reform

Three members of the Washington Football Team on Tuesday testified before Maryland’s House of Delegates in support of reforms to state police.

Defensive end Chase Young, wide receiver Dontrelle Inman and long snapper Nick Sundberg all testified in a virtual hearing Tuesday before lawmakers considering a wide range of police reforms for the state, including the repeal of the controversial “Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights,” which shields police from prosecution in many cases.

In video from the hearing first reported by NBC 4 Washington, Young described how even as a high-paid football star, he still feels nervous around members of law enforcement and tenses up while driving near uniformed officers.

“I’m doing everything I have to do not to get pulled over,” Young said. “My mom is scared for me, my dad [is scared for me], just everybody.”

Chase Young testified in support of the Maryland Police reform bill earlier today. Impressive stuff. pic.twitter.com/j6LPAdkQg5

— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) February 9, 2021

The team’s president, Jason Wright, tweeted his support for the players’ efforts and thanked lawmakers for letting them testify Tuesday afternoon.

Thanks to @VAtterbeary @SpeakerAJones @DelegateATW
for letting the guys join MDs police reform efforts. @youngchase907 @NickSundberg & others are brilliant. They’ve spent real time w/ law enforcement to know the challenges from all angles. Proud they were able to support today.

— Jason Wright (@whoisjwright) February 9, 2021

Maryland’s largest city, Baltimore, was the site of passionate protests in 2015 following the death of Freddie Gray, a Black man who died in police custody after suffering a fatal injury in a police vehicle. The protests turned to violence in some parts of the city, drawing national attention after dozens of businesses were burned or otherwise damaged.

Six officers were charged with an array of offenses related to Gray’s death, but none were convicted.