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For that past few weeks in the NFL, more and more players have joined the protest for racial equality that was started by 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in August.

Although Kaepernick's cause has grown, many players are still trying to figure out how they can help turn things around. On Kaepernick's end, the quarterback has pledged to donate a total $1 million to charities in multiple areas that are affected the most by police brutality and racial inequality.

For other players, like Seahawks receiver Doug Baldwin, trying to make change means making a call to action. During his weekly press conference on Thursday, Baldwin called for a nationwide review of all law enforcement training policies.


"As an American, a black male in this country, I'm suggesting, calling -- I'm demanding that all 50 state attorney generals call for a review of their policies and training policies for police and law enforcement to eliminate militaristic cultures while putting a higher emphasis on de-escalation tactics and crisis management measures," Baldwin said.

Baldwin's suggestion comes less than a week after Terence Crutcher was fatally shot by police in Tulsa, an incident that was followed by another fatal police shooting in Charlotte on Tuesday.

At least one attorney general has already reached out to Baldwin.

The Seahawks receiver started his press conference on Thursday by pointing out that U.S. Department of Justice had to be called into investigate police in Ohio after Tamir Rice was killed by an officer in 2014.

"This is not an isolated incident. This is not an isolated conversation. This is not isolated just to some specific parts of our country," Baldwin said. "We see that now. And the advancement of technology has proven that, from the video of Rodney King in 1991 to the numerous incidents that we now have visual evidence of today."

Baldwin also added that the current laws in place to prevent police brutality just aren't working.

"Now this is not an indictment of our law enforcement agencies. I just want that to be clear. We know that there's a select few -- a very minute few -- of law enforcement who are not abiding by those laws and policies," Baldwin said. "However, we also know that there are laws and policies that are in place that are not correcting the issue that we have in our society right now."

The 28-year-receiver has a unique perspective on the situation, in part, because he grew up with a parent who was in law enforcement.

"My father's a police officer, and he's told me numerous times about his training and how they've gone through what they call verbal judo, which is essentially them trying to de-escalate the situation," Baldwin said. "From what I understand, and from what he's told me and his experience in homeland security, is that that method of training is not consistent throughout the entirety of the United States. And that's an issue."

Baldwin wants to live in a country where minorities don't have to worry about police brutality.

"There should not be an inherent risk when you have an encounter with law enforcement," Baldwin said. "There should not be a concern or worry that the law enforcement is not there to protect you. And I think we're raising a culture or society right now that is questioning that very sentiment."

Before ending his statement, Baldwin quoted a line from Martin Luther King Jr.

"I've said this before and as Martin Luther King famously said, 'We must not become a culture, a society, that is more concerned with order than justice. And I believe that if we're more concerned with order than justice, than we'll lose both.'"

Baldwin was the second Seahawks player this week to use his press conference as forum to deliver a message. Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman did the same thing on Wednesday.