The National Football League released a statement in the wake of the death of George Floyd and the consequent Black Lives Matter movement re-ignited from civil unrest.
Many players have spoken out about Floyd’s killing and the change society must undergo in its effort to put a stop to racism and police brutality. On Thursday night, the league took the first step by delivering some words of support in their Instagram account:
“This is a time of self-reflection for all – the NFL is no exception,” the statement read. “We stand with the black community because Black Lives Matter. Through Inspire Change, the NFL, Players and our partners have supported programs and initiatives throughout the country to address systemic racism. We will continue using our platform to challenge the injustice around us. To date we have donated $44 million to support hundreds of worthy organizations. This year, we are committing an additional $20 million to these causes and we will accelerate efforts to highlight their critical work. We know that we can and need to do more.”
The NFL is donating nearly half of the previous sum supporting causes to help movements in need.
While this pledge is only a small step toward real, palpable change, enacting a zero-tolerance policy on racist acts and discrimination would help the NFL move forward by looking itself in the mirror first — a practice many organizations can use in the near future.
Actions like hiring more black coaches and executives would be the first order of business if the NFL is really hoping to show they are inclusive and non-discriminatory as they claim to be.
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