NEW YORK: The NFL, which first began a social justice program after players protested police brutality and racial injustice several years ago, announced Thursday it will commit a quarter of a billion dollars over 10 years to a fund to combat systemic racism and support the battle against injustices faced by African Americans.
The statement issued by the NFL Thursday reads: “The NFL is growing our social justice efforts through a 10-year total $250 million fund to combat systemic racism and support the battle against the ongoing and historic injustices faced by African-Americans.
“The NFL and our clubs will continue to work collaboratively with NFL players to support programs to address criminal justice reform, police reforms, and economic and educational advancement.
“In addition to the financial commitment, we will continue to leverage the NFL Network and all of our media properties to place an increased emphasis on raising awareness and promoting education of social justice issues to our fans and help foster unity.”
This is a tectonic shift for a league that was roiled when Colin Kaepernick first took a knee in protest nearly four years ago – and which has seen players be the target of attacks from elected officials, including NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who sought to conflate the protests with disrespect for the flag and military.
Last week, after a group of star African American players demanded action from the league, Goodell released a video in which he declared “Black Lives Matter”, said the league had been wrong for not listening to players earlier and encouraged players to speak out. He said he wanted to be part of much-needed change.
Goodell’s support of player protests represented a substantial turnaround for the league that had created – though never implemented – a policy that allowed players who wanted to protest to remain in the locker room, but insisted they stand for the national anthem if they were on the field.
Even before last week’s videos and Thursday’s announcement, the league had donated $44 million to its social justice programs. That money had funded 20 national social justice grant partners and made matching contributions to 350 local grassroots organizations identified by players and former players.
