Anquan Boldin, 3 Other NFL Players Write Op-Ed Pushing Criminal Justice Reform

Free-agent wide receiver Anquan Boldin joined together with three other NFL players to write an op-ed for CNN calling for criminal justice reform. 

Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins, Detroit Lions safety Glover Quin and Lions cornerback Johnson Bademosi collaborated on the piece.

"Congress can do more to help currently and formerly incarcerated people rebuild their lives by removing obstacles to employment for those with records," the four wrote. "Prospective government workers and contractors should not be forced to acknowledge past criminal convictions before they get a chance to demonstrate their qualifications for the job."

The players took issue with prosecutors' handling of certain drug charges. They recounted the story of Evans Ray, who received a life sentence for his role in arranging a 2007 drug sale. President Barack Obama commuted his sentence last August.

The players also criticized Attorney General Jeff Sessions' request to have federal prosecutors pursue "the most serious" charges in criminal cases:

"Mr. Sessions recently announced the seismic shift in criminal justice policy, and now puts himself, the Justice Department and the Trump administration in direct opposition to what so many Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals, and red states and blue states, have been clamoring for, and acting on: criminal justice reform that preserves families, saves money and protects communities."

In March, Jenkins tweeted a photo from his efforts in Washington, D.C., advocating for criminal justice reform:

The op-ed noted Boldin and Bademosi have "seen first hand the devastating effects of failed criminal justice reform policies."

Boldin's cousin, Corey Jones, was shot by a plainclothes police officer in October 2015 while waiting for a tow truck in Florida. Authorities arrested Nouman Raja, who was fired from his job with the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department, on charges of manslaughter and attempted murder. Raja will go to trial Oct. 30.

Bademosi, who was born to Nigerian immigrants, saw his father deported following his arrest on a nonviolent drug charge.