NFL, players group going in right direction

It’s a start.

The proposed agreement between the NFL and the Players Coalition to formalize and fund social justice reform efforts is not perfect, by any means. The announcement Thursday left as many questions as it answered — how, specifically, it will be funded being the most obvious — and the absence of Eric Reid, the first player to join Colin Kaepernick in the protests during the national anthem, is a concern.

The divide in our country is not only disheartening but also dangerous. There’s a segment of our population that can’t — or won’t — see that people of color continue to be discriminated against and marginalized. Meanwhile, the FBI said last month that hate crimes rose for the second consecutive year in 2016, with more than half of the victims targeted because of their race or ethnicity.

Think what you will of the protests by Kaepernick and the other players, but they’ve started a conversation this country has to have. It’s going to take more than talk to bridge the divide, though, which is where the fund comes in.

It focuses on three areas that play a significant role in racial inequality: criminal justice reform legislation; police and community relations; education and economic advancement.

Many of the 40-plus players in the Coalition already are doing work in these areas, lobbying local and federal legislators, organizing listening sessions with police and residents and supporting scholarship programs. But the sad reality is those efforts, done in the players’ free time, don’t get the same kind of attention as kneeling or raising a fist during the anthem.

Be honest: Did you know Malcolm Jenkins, Torrey Smith and Chris Long got up early the day after the Philadelphia Eagles played in a Monday night game Oct. 23 so they could lobby Pennsylvania legislators on a bill that would seal criminal records of non-violent of- fenders after 10 years?

Didn’t think so.

Put the spotlight of the NFL behind these types of efforts, though, and they become harder to ignore. Put real money behind these efforts, and change will follow.

According to ESPN, which saw the final draft of the proposal, the NFL will contribute $89 million over seven years to local and national projects. The league will give $5 million this year and increase its contribution annually until it reaches $12 million from 2021 to 2023.

Additionally, ESPN said each individual team owner has promised to contribute $250,000 each year, with the expectation that the players would contribute an equal amount. Owners still have to vote on the agreement.

You can argue that the NFL could easily afford larger contributions, both at the league and team levels. It is, after all, a $14 billion a year industry, with the average franchise valued at $2.5 billion.

You can question whether the NFL will dig deeper into its pockets for its contributions or simply shift the money it already gives around.

You can worry that the grants will go to favored NFL programs rather than ones making the most impact.

You can doubt the NFL’s sincerity, wondering if its commitment is more about shielding the league from angry fans and raging tweets than a true interest in equality.

Though the NFL didn’t demand an end to the protests as part of the agreement, it’s a reasonable question to ask — especially given Jenkins’ announcement Thursday that he will no longer raise his fist during the anthem as he’s done since last season.

“When I started demonstrating, my whole motivation was to draw awareness to disenfranchised people, communities of color, injustices around the country, our criminal justice system,” Jenkins said.

“I feel like (the agreement with the NFL) has presented a bigger and better platform to continue to raise that awareness.”

The agreement is not perfect. But we’re never going to heal our divisions with the way we’re going. At least this is a start in the right direction.