‘WE WERE WRONG’
Goodell says league ignored players, now endorses protests
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Friday admitted the league had been wrong to ignore players who spoke out against police brutality and encouraged peaceful protest, a remarkable reversal cast against the league’s recent exile of quarterback Colin Kaepernick that provided another signpost of the rapidly evolving national discourse on race and policing.
The NFL has grappled with the issue of protest since Kaepernick first sat, then knelt during the national anthem in protest of police brutality in 2016. President Donald Trump turned the kneeling by Kaepernick and others into a political bludgeon when he called them “sons of bitches” at a 2017 rally, turning the protests into a debate over patriotism and respecting the flag rather than police reform or systemic racism.
In the wake of the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, the country has been convulsed by protests of the issue Kaepernick raised. Many protesters — and some police officers expressing sympathy with them — have invoked Kaepernick by taking a knee. Goodell, the voice of a league with seven owners who donated at least $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee, also condemned “the systematic oppression of black people.”
Made in an 81-second video released by the NFL, Goodell’s comments came a day after a group of prominent NFL players, including Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, pressured the NFL to strengthen its previous statement in response to widespread protests against police brutality.
“We, the National Football League, condemn racism and the systematic oppression of black people,” Goodell said. “We, the National Football League, admit we were 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.”
The controversy over player protests during the anthem was reignited this week with comments by New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees. President Trump said earlier Friday that Brees should not have apologized for saying he opposes players protesting during the anthem, calling such protests disrespectful to the flag and country.
While some rhetoric has been predictable, the NFL’s statement serves as a cultural bellwether. Former NFL Players Association president Domonique Foxworth said the comments did not shock him after a wave of corporations and businesses have released statements regarding the protests. But he still found them significant for how they represented a societal shift.
“It just feels — and I know everyone feels this — it feels like the Earth is spinning faster than it was before,” Foxworth said. “It just feels like everything is moving so quickly.”
Goodell spoke after a group of prominent players — including Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes and Watson — released a video Thursday, calling for the league to express much of what Goodell expressed Friday. Foxworth said the NFL’s change was evidence of the players’ collective power, but more so it revealed the NFL as a societal bellwether.
“I think it's just the public,” he said. “The public has created this change, and the players are riding this wave, and the league has responded to the wave. I guess you could talk about Kaepernick as the one who started it in some ways.”
After Trump’s comments in 2017, the NFL saw its ratings fall, and polls showed many fans stopped watching. Former NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart penned an essay for CNN this week calling owners’ choice not to sign Kaepernick a “business decision.” That history made Goodell's comments Friday notable.
“I personally protest with you and want to be part of the much-needed change in this country,” Goodell said. “Without black players, there would be no National Football League. And the protests around the country are emblematic of the centuries of silence, inequality and oppression of black players, coaches, fans and staff. We are listening. I am listening. And I will be reaching out to players who have raised their voices and others on how we can improve and go forward for a better and more united NFL family.”
Watson and Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. also were part of the video released by players Thursday.
“What if I was George Floyd?” players said on the video. Later, they said: “So, on behalf of the National Football League, this is what we, the players, would like to hear you state: ‘We, the National Football League, condemn racism and the systematic oppression of black people. We, the National Football League, admit wrong in silencing our players from peacefully protesting. We, the National Football League, believe black lives matter.’ ”
The league wrote Friday on its Twitter account, “Players, we hear you,” with the video attached.