What if blacks were to ‘move on’ from NFL?

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said his league has “moved on” from Colin Kaepernick?

Bet.

How about if black people “move on” from the NFL?

To reset the conflict, Kaepernick became the leader of an anti-police brutality movement when he listened to the advice of a Green Beret and respectfully kneeled during the nation anthem in a peaceful protest to the very violent deaths of unarmed black men that sparked riots and protests around the nation.

Kaepernick has been ostracized for three years, but recently had a tryout where scouts and personnel executives could evaluate and potentially sign him in time for a playoff run.

It didn’t go well.

The deal came with a lot of strings attached for the former 49ers star. So, he changed the terms of his workout, ending it wearing a “Kunta Kinte” T-shirt and telling NFL owners to “stop being scared” and sign him.

This apparently emboldened Goodell to escalate the matter last week.

Rather than focus on the thing being protested, Goodell directed his comments at the protester.

Rather than focus on a solution to racial inequality and problems facing law enforcement and the communities they serve, Goodell talked about the “incredible opportunity” his league presented Kaepernick.

So now he’s speaking for everyone when he says, “We’ve moved on”? Cool.

We hear you.

So, let’s just think about this for a second.

The NFL places its teams in major U.S. cities, which means there are lots of black people, Hispanic people and their white allies in these areas.

Let’s assume they all decide this is the last insult they’re willing to take, and they stop watching, buying jerseys and attending games.

Let’s take that to its next logical step and consider if that multiethnic coalition of insulted people of conscience decides to boycott the beer and soda and pizza and insurance and car companies that prop up the endeavor of pro football.

Imagine how much money these companies would stand to lose in a week, a month or a year.

Let’s just “stick to sports” and imagine a world of pro football without black people.

That means five of the top seven quarterbacks by the ESPN quarterback rating metric would be gone.

That means four of the top five running backs by yards gained would be gone. (This ratio could go on awhile. I stopped counting at 19 of the top 20.)

That means seven of the top 10 defenders by total tackles would be gone. (The top overall tackler is Latino, so that would be eight of 10, if we’re expanding this to all ethnic minorities.)

That means four of the top five defensive players by sacks would be gone.

Let’s just get to the core of it. According to most recent results from the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, 70% of the NFL is black.

Imagine they leave the NFL and go play in pro leagues in Canada, China or Europe. Imagine they leave and start their own league.

Where do team presidents, investors and sponsors think the fans will flock?

How much money would they stand to lose?

What if this extended to the NBA? What if it extended to college football?

We’re always hearing about how important Saturdays are down South. What if the SEC didn’t have black players? Or black fans?

Look, no one wants this. Football means everything to our country. We use football to teach our sons values like competitiveness, perseverance, teamwork, trust, responsibility, strength and how to deal with disappointment.

Football is a place where we teach people from diverse backgrounds to get along and work together toward a common goal.

Football is what we use to create heroes.

No one wants to undermine the NFL. We want it to work.

But the league is going to have to do a better job of proving that it understands why Kaepernick has become a symbol for social justice.

It’s going to have to do a better job of showing and proving that it’s addressing the problems of racial inequality and police brutality that Kaepernick has been fighting.

Answer questions about Kaepernick with measurable gains in social justice initiatives like community policing, anti-bias training for law enforcement, education programs for disadvantaged kids, job training classes or a suite of family-support programs.

Show us you get it. Otherwise, this thing is going to keep escalating. Goodell and the NFL have moved on? Bet.

Imagine if a collation of insulted people of conscience from all backgrounds decides to do the same thing.