Roger Goodell’s Mea Culpa on Behalf of the NFL
When 49ers QB, Colin Kapernik, took a knee during the National Anthem in protest of police brutality, the NFL excoriated, ostracized, and ultimately banned him from the game.
In case you missed this, NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, has done an about face:
It’s about time!
So, here’s the question:
What should Goodell and the NFL do next?
06/06/2020 @ 8:12 am
You mean after they canonize Colin Kapernik? I’d say And scrape the egg off Drew Brees’ face, but he’s already had his Roger Goodell moment.
In this case I’d say I”m not the right guy to answer this question. If there’s any lesson in this, it’s that White people shouldn’t be determining what you need.
I’ll make one suggestion: The NFL should be 100% clear to politicians who want to associate with the NFL in any way that a hint of racism means the NFL will oppose you in public and not send winning teams to, for example, a Trump White House.
06/06/2020 @ 8:36 am
Not a bad idea…
06/06/2020 @ 2:07 pm
What to do next is such a great question. Btw, I love your other two commenters comments.
The NFL has some things to work on, but I think the question should be put to the average American. A few years ago, you could not swing a dead rat without hitting someone who said, “blue lives matter”, or “all lives matter”, or some other rebuttal form of the phrase. I recall saying to people that that was like heckling at a funeral. “Black Lives Matter” is not an exclusive statement. It doesn’t say…or mean…ONLY black lives matter. So, for anyone who ever heard “Black Lives Matter”, and answered with, “yeah, but…”, that is the group that needs to consider the next move.
06/06/2020 @ 6:16 pm
No need to apologize…Independent thoughts deserve to be expressed independently…
The average fan needn’t be the party making the next move…
How about if Goodell and THE NFL compensate and remunerate Kapernik and then creat some kind of annual acknowledgement or award in his name?
06/06/2020 @ 7:37 pm
Kaepernick sued and received some sort of settlement, the details of which have not been released. I suspect that may have something to do with why Kaepernick was not acknowledged in the NFL statement.
When you asked about next steps, I took that to mean the next step in our culture rather than between Kaepernick and the league. The NFL is a huge platform. The largest. The NFL wants to have a global footprint. I imagine leveraging their reach to influence Joe-Sixpack toward progressive change, rather than what they did 4 years ago. If what they change is limited to the league, great. I just think they can do so much more.
Consider that the share holders are 32 multi-billionaires. And their connections to other ancillary businesses is vast. The reach could be absolutely massive.
06/06/2020 @ 9:39 pm
“The reach could be absolutely massive.”
Agreed….
What I’m suggesting could be a start at planting the seeds of change in a somewhat innocuous fashion.
06/08/2020 @ 8:58 pm
I sometimes explain to people that BLM would be better understood as Black Lives Matter Too. White lives already matter, so do blue lives. Does anyone think cop killers don’t get prosecuted?
06/06/2020 @ 2:11 pm
I apologize for needing to comment twice, but I want to include that I like Drew Brees’s apology. I give him credit for it. So much so that I am conflicted about a feeling that goes along with that, that part of me regrets. That is that I still look forward to seeing him play this year, and I hope for a defensive player to just knock the cowboy snot out of him. Then, I want him to help him up and say, thank your grandfathers for their service. Let him struggle what that has to do with anything.
06/06/2020 @ 6:10 pm
What should Goodell and the NFL do next?
The NFL earned over $8.1 billion in national revenue last year.
I believe that Goodell and the NFL should put a small piece of money where their mouth is…
Let’s say a $10 million annual set- aside…
With these funds, they can create a standing BLM ‘legal defense and scholarship fund’ for the families of the victims of police brutality to cover legal expenses in suing police departments and municipalities for the wrongful deaths of loved ones and or cover or assist in covering the hospital and/or funeral expenses not otherwise covered, or make scholarships available to the school/college aged children and so on….
Here’s another thought: A straight $100, 000 reward for the citizen(s) who catch offending cop(s) on tape, and whose video or photo is used as evidence to establish probable cause for arrest and indictment or charges to filed…
06/12/2020 @ 2:03 pm
They’ve done me 2 1/2 times better, 25 million per year for the next ten years!:
“The NFL announced on Thursday it would pledge $250 million over the next ten years to help fight systematic racism. The NFL announced it would pledge $250 million over the next ten years to help fight systematic racism.”
https://www.phillytrib.com/sports/football/the-nfl-commits-250-million-over-the-next-10-years-to-help-fight-systematic-racism/article_99d30936-a69c-5a8b-9cbb-e997a9a37b49.html