Amazingly one would expect that those in power that have hindered any efforts to improve the lives of black Americans to just shut the fuck up, at least for now, as much of our country burns and divisions grow following the murder of George Floyd. Obviously the NFL and their current commissioner Roger Goodell do not have the foresight or nuance to understand how badly they look right now and shutting the fuck up would simply be their best move.
The full arrogance and tone deafness of the NFL and Mr. Goodell is on full display in this quote issued today:
"As current events dramatically underscore, there remains much more to do as a country and as a league," Goodell said. "These tragedies inform the NFL's commitment and our ongoing efforts. There remains an urgent need for action. We recognize the power of our platform in communities and as part of the fabric of American society. We embrace that responsibility and are committed to continuing the important work to address these systemic issues together with our players, clubs and partners."
Really Goodell!! Your ongoing commitment and your ongoing efforts? Your commitment to the important work to address these systemic issues together with our players, clubs and partners!?!?
www.espn.com/…
Let me refresh your short memory and anyone else who has been living under a rock. You had a true spokesman on this topic and you banished him from your sport altogether for taking a fucking knee for the national anthem. That individual is Colin Kaepernick.
I hear others currently stating now that the response by the African American community and others is wrong and the turn to violence is only going to hurt the cause. In a vacuum that sentiment makes sense, but look at what happens when someone takes a non-violent approach by peacefully kneeling during the playing of the national anthem to protest racial inequality, social injustice and police brutality. That is what Mr. Kaepernick did in 2016 and the pro-bowl quarterback hasn’t played in the NFL since he began his peaceful protests.
The NFL made an example out of Mr. Kaepernick and that sent a chilling message to any others who dared to do the same. So much for peaceful protesting.
If there was any doubt (not that there should have been any at this point) what the NFL did to Mr. Kaepernick and the message they sent to anyone else who dared continue kneeling was this confession from their former NFL VP of Communication, Joe Lockhart, now a CNN political analyst.
www.cnn.com/…
The key takeaway from this article was that teams supposedly looked at Kaepernick and thought the prospect of losing business (as much as 20% of season ticket holders) did not outweigh the benefits of his talent. Huh, I guess that is why things worked out so badly for Nike after they prominently featured him in their ad campaigns during the 2018 season. Actually NOT!! Nike sales instead soared as “the company claimed $163 million in earned media, a $6 billion brand value increase, and a 31% boost in sales”.
www.fastcompany.com/…
So where does the quoted NFL Executive come up with their 20% dip in season ticket sales? Who the fuck knows, but obviously keeping 20% of your racist season ticket holders happy (for one team mind you) is more important than supporting social justice and raising awareness of police brutality.
Finally, it should be noted that approximately 70% of the NFL is made up of African Americans. So again one would think that the billionaire owners might just care just a smidgen to address an issue that is so important for the majority of their workforce. Obviously not, instead the NFL and Goodell’s priority is business first and keeping a portion of their racist fans happy.
Therefore in closing, Mr. Goodell and the NFL. We know where you stand on this issue and what you really believe and your priorities. Please save us your sanctimonious press releases and your hollow words, and for the sake of Black lives and social justices, just please SHUT THE FUCK UP!
