As Trump Rekindles N.F.L. Fight, Goodell Sides With Players

More than any other major sports league, the N.F.L. has wrestled in recent years with the issue of race, the lack of African-Americans and other people of color in positions of power in the league and the rights of players to protest social issues on the field. While three-quarters of the league’s players are African-American, nearly every owner is white and several of the most prominent owners are strong supporters of the president.

In this latest wave of civil unrest, many players, coaches and owners have spoken out against racism, and have pledged to become more involved in finding solutions.

Last Saturday, Roger Goodell was the first big league commissioner to issue a statement of concern in response to Floyd’s death, but his words were panned as hypocritical because of the league owners’ rejection of Kaepernick, who has not found another job in the league since the end of the 2016 season.

On Thursday, some of the league’s biggest stars, including Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, released a video calling on the league to condemn the oppression of black people and to apologize for not supporting players who protested peacefully.

In his Instagram post directed at the president, Brees wrote that after conversations with many people, he understood that “this is not an issue about the American flag. It has never been. We can no longer use the flag to turn people away or distract them from the real issues that face our black communities.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/05/sports/football/trump-anthem-kneeling-kaepernick.html