CHICAGO – Lucas Giolito spoke on an off-day Zoom call Thursday afternoon, but it was not about baseball or the White Sox.

The 26-year-old right-hander, fresh off throwing a no-hitter on Tuesday night, talked instead about Wednesday’s protests from professional sports leagues, including Major League Baseball, in reaction to the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisc. this past Sunday. Giolito also continued the discussion for societal change, a topic he has addressed with great clarity and fortitude over the past few months.

“What went down with Jacob Blake, in my mind, that's unacceptable. That shouldn't be happening in a developed country. A man getting shot seven times in his back, that just shouldn't happen,” Giolito said. “I don't see why that's something that happened, why it has consistently been happening for a long time.

“I know that, for some reason, the way that everything's going, my opinion on that being unacceptable is going to be politicized when it shouldn't be. But you see what's going on, athletes continuing to use their voice to speak up, whether that just be in an interview or with what we see going on with players boycotting, or whatever you want to call it.”

Giolito pointed out those voices are not solely coming from the NBA or WNBA, a league he praised for being at the forefront at pushing for change and social justice. But it’s also “creeping into MLB and even further,” according to Giolito.

“It's part of a bunch of people saying enough is enough,” Giolito said. “That this isn't something that should continue to go on in this country.”

Games involving the Reds/Brewers, Mariners/Padres and Dodgers/Giants were were not played on Wednesday when players voted not to take the field in protest of the Blake shooting. Giolito felt that was a good step for baseball, while also addressing Dom Smith’s emotional press conference with the Mets.

“Watching him up there talk about his experience, get emotional, it made me emotional, because that's a player that I respect,” Giolito said. “That's someone I've known for a long time. And it's just really sad to see that he's just one example of so many people in this country that are not being treated fairly. It does give me hope seeing baseball players speaking up, standing up. But there's a lot more that needs to be done.

“Historically, baseball, it's hard to put into words, but it's almost as if you wouldn't expect baseball players to participate in something like that. Usually, it's like, ‘Keep your head down and play the game and do what you do.’ I'm going to sound like a broken record, but players are people, too, human beings.”

One goal for Giolito is to continue to raise awareness and not be afraid to express his opinion. There’s more education Giolito feels he needs, including talking to his own teammates. Those sorts of talks have happened within the White Sox family following the death of George Floyd, a Black man killed while being detained by Minneapolis police officers on May 25, but not since the tragic situation in Wisconsin.

Giolito was asked how the team would respond if shortstop Tim Anderson, the lone African-American player on the White Sox roster, didn’t feel comfortable playing in Friday’s series opener against the Royals but wanted the team to play. He wasn’t totally sure how to answer, at this point.

“I haven’t even talked to Tim about this,” Giolito said. “I don’t know what his opinion is on it, how he’s feeling as far as playing and things like that. I’m not really going to speak on that specifically, that kind of scenario yet.”

Players and teams sitting out these games and taking a stand gets a lot of eyes on the issue and a lot of people talking, “which is important,” according to Giolito. Turning these action into concrete steps for actual changes represents the next move in Giolito’s mind.

As for the “stick to sports” mantra delivered by some to athletes, Giolito called that response tired.

“I'm not going to give those people the time of day,” Giolito said. “We're all members of this society. We're all human beings. Me, as a human being, I believe that other human beings in this country should be treated fairly, with respect, shouldn't be afraid of their own police force in their cities.

“That's pretty much where I'm at. I'm not going to argue with someone trying to tell me to stay in my own lane. I'm going to feel comfortable expressing my opinions on things.”