With sincerity of the NFL’s response in question, at issue is whether the league will make a progressive turn in policies and management decisions.
Tensions are high in the world right now. George Floyd’s death at police hands has triggered unrest and protests worldwide. It’s a time for serious soul searching–including in sports.
Courtesy: San Francisco Chronicle
On Friday, the NFL declared that the league “was wrong to not listen to black players’ protests” in response to Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the National Anthem before NFL contests.
In a tweet, the NFL stated: “We, the NFL, condemn racism and the systematic oppression of Black People. We, the NFL, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest. We, the NFL, believe Black Lives Matter. #InspireChange.”
As Forbes reported, “It’s a remarkable reversal for the league, which in 2018 announced that teams would be fined if players knelt during the playing of the anthem to protest racial injustice, claiming at the time, that “protests created a false perception among many that thousands of NFL players were unpatriotic.”
Although relevant now, the NFL should have expressed its opinion much sooner–at the time of the national conversation about Kaepernick’s stance. The league also should have intervened when it was clear that the former quarterback was being blackballed from play by NFL franchises.
By not acting when it should, the NFL stood with others who have chosen a racist stance, and it sided with people and groups that defy allegiance to the fundamental American creed, “Liberty and Justice for All.”
