Malcolm Jenkins: Making An Impact On And Off The Field
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Sports superstars have been dominating headlines in recent weeks, and many times it has little to do what is going on on the field.
KYW Community Affairs reporter Cherri Gregg sat down with Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins about his efforts to use football standings to make change in criminal justice.
Malcolm Jenkins has a number of wins under his helmet: he has a Superbowl ring, is handling his business on the field as a Philadelphia Eagle, and in the past year has added entrepreneur, activist, and change-maker to his list of titles.
"I've began to see that my influence and reach goes far beyond my social media following," he said.
Jenkins says his activism was once limited to retweets and hashtags, but now he's stepped up, working to find ways to become part of the solution of the ongoing debate over the police shooting and mass incarceration of people of color by meeting with police, visiting prisons, and going to lawmakers, and bringing in NFL leadership to join him.
"Once we realized we could get into these doors, we wanted to make sure that we used this leverage, not necessarily bringing our voices to the table, but instead the voices of the people doing the work day in and day out," Jenkins said.
Hear more of the ways Jenkins is working to empower communities, as well as the debate over gun control Sunday morning at 8:30 only on Flashpoint.