Athletes Invoke Colin Kaepernick in Response to George Floyd Protests

The N.F.L.’s commissioner, Roger Goodell, issued his own statement late Saturday saying “the protesters’ reactions to these incidents reflect the pain, anger and frustration that so many of us feel.”

He added, “There remains an urgent need for action.”

Yet his statement, his detractors noted, did not include any mention of the police or of Kaepernick.

Goodell and other top leadership provoked more debate, not less, in part not only because of the unwillingness of any N.F.L. team to hire Kaepernick, but also because of the league’s poor record in trying to increase the hiring of black coaches, an issue that came up again in recent weeks as the league considered steps to address it.

Eric Reid, the free-agent safety who knelt with Kaepernick when they were on the San Francisco 49ers, mocked the commissioner’s statement as anodyne, saying he looked forward to “Songs of the Season 2.0,” a reference to the league’s songwriting campaign that donated the proceeds from the songs to the N.F.L.’s social justice initiatives.

Reid also criticized his former boss, the 49ers owner Jed York, who said the team would donate $1 million to support the Players Coalition.

“Nobody wants your money, Jed,” Reid wrote. “We want justice. We’ve always wanted justice. Y’all are truly diluted.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/sports/football/colin-kaepernick-george-floyd.html