BOSTON -- Devin McCourty didn't want to waste any time. He sat down on stage at the Lilla G. Frederick Pilot Middle School in Dorchester and made a quick joke about how the 200 people or so in attendance may not be able to distinguish him from his twin brother, Jason, who sat alongside. Then he launched right into why he was there.
"Our criminal justice system," Devin said, "is broken . . ."
It was the beginning of a long back-and-forth between three high-profile moderators -- the McCourty brothers and Patriots teammate Matthew Slater -- and five candidates for Suffolk County District Attorney. On the table were a multitude of topics focused on criminal justice reform and policy changes that might be made in order to help create a more fair justice system as well as a safer communities.
The event was organized by the Players Coalition, which under the leadership of the likes of Devin McCourty, Malcolm Jenkins, Anquan Boldin, Chris Long and others has tried to steer attention away from polarizing anthem demonstrations and toward making meaningful change for communities that need it.
"If you listen to what players are saying all along, you know, taking a knee was a protest to get people to understand what we were trying to do," McCourty said. "This is what we were trying to do. We're trying to make changes to the community . . . That has been our focus all along."
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Tuesday's back and forth between the trio of Patriots and the DA candidates for Suffolk County was was one of many nationwide Players Coalition "Launching Justice" events taking place during the NFL's offseason.
In early May, Jenkins, Richard Sherman, Doug Baldwin and former Patriots special teamer Johnson Bademosi spoke with DA candidates in Oakland. Jenkins headed up another similar event in Sacramento. Last week, Boldin and Carl Davis met with State's Attorney candidates in Capitol Heights, Maryland. On Wednesday, Long is scheduled to meet with prosecuting attorney candidates in Missouri for a public discussion.
"Us as professional athletes, we feel like we're citizens first," Devin McCourty said. "We're in these communities, we live in these communities, we get to be a part of them. Meeting people, greeting people. We felt like it was our right to worry about equality and how people are being treated in these communities . . .
"Hopefully us being here and what we do on the field brings a lot of people out here to get educated. They're the ones come sept have to come out and vote."
The Players Coalition has been recognized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and 501(c)(4) social welfare organization that is zeroed in on criminal justice, education and economic advancement, and community relations with police.
Democratic Suffolk County DA candidates Evandro Carvalho, Linda Champion, Shannon McAuliffe and Rachael Rollins were all in attendance on Tuesday, as was independent Michael Maloney. Democratic candidate Greg Henning was not present.
The McCourtys and Slater peppered all five with questions about how the next DA might be able to help roll back mass incarcerations as well as improve relations between police and their communities. All three players had notes, questions and statistics prepared, and they offered follow-ups for candidates when a particular response struck a chord.
The discussion got heated at times with attendees speaking out to take candidates to task or to go back and forth with the players. Jason McCourty took his microphone at one point to address the crowd, saying, "We love the passion, but . . . let's just try to be respectful."
Slater said beforehand that his nerves were about on par with what he feels before a game, and afterward he acknowledged that he had to maybe manage his own emotions a bit in part because of the energy coming from the audience.
"I think that's what it's all about: passion," he told WBUR. "People are people that end up making a difference. I just kept telling myself I'm moderator, stay calm, stay cool and allow this thing to play out."
Devin McCourty was very clear before the discussion began that he was not there to answer questions about the anthem or how players would be handling the anthem moving forward. For him, that's a discussion that can cloud the ultimate goal for him and the rest of the Players Coalition: to bring attention to real issues for people in communities looking for real progress.
But McCourty has acknowledged in the past that the anthem demonstrations did spark a conversation. That conversation has helped in part to lead to meaningful steps toward change.
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There is the partnership established between NFL owners and the Players Coalition that resulted in $90 million being dedicated to programs combating social injustice. There are discussions like Tuesday's happening around the country.
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"For us as athletes, it's important to see that you have an impact," Jason McCourty said. "People do want to hear your voice. To see different members of the community to come out, and to probably feel like they'll be heard, and maybe we're asking some of the same questions that they have. I think it has been exciting. And it's encouraging to know that you can make a difference and you do have an impact.
"[It's important] to kind of roll up your sleeves, and continue to dig in, and continue to try to, for us, make strides and improve and do things that we can to help the communities that we play in."