This is a watershed moment for the NFL
The senseless and tragic killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery are at the forefront of all conversations about racial inequality, police brutality and injustice in America.
It also might have finally prompted meaningful change in the NFL.
The wild about-face by the league was prompted by an emotional plea from some of the NFL’s most prominent players in a video posted online Thursday (with an assist from a “rogue” NFL employee).
A day later, commissioner Roger Goodell responded with a video of his own, saying the NFL was “wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest. We the National Football League believe black lives matter.
“I personally protest with you, and want to be part of the much-needed change in this country.”
If Goodell meant what he said, the NFL has changed forever, wrote Christine Brennan.
However, Mike Jones warns that while Goodell’s “We, the NFL” statement was good, the pressure now falls on the league’s owners to make good on the commissioner’s words.
PHOTOS: NFL players among athletes speaking on George Floyd, racial injustice
What you need to know from the NFL
- Athletes join protests: “I can see when these tragic things take place, it could easily happen to me,” Cleveland Browns lineman Kendall Lamm said.
- Drew Brees had quite the week: The Saints QB set off a firestorm Wednesday when he commented on protests during the national anthem. He apologized a day later. Of course, President Donald Trump chimed in, saying Brees “should not have taken back his original stance on honoring our magnificent American Flag.” Brees responded, saying “this is not an issue about the American flag. It has never been.”
- How an ex-NFL player’s video for white people went viral: Emmanuel Acho made “Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man,” after George Floyd’s death to explain black experience to white people.
- Larry Fitzgerald writes powerful essay on racial injustice: Fitzgerald was clear and powerful in an essay he wrote in the New York Times about racial injustice.
PHOTOS: Every NFL team’s all-time leading passer
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