Roger Goodell admits NFL should’ve listened to players, but it’s time for the league to take a knee – SNY.tv

Ralph Vacchiano | Facebook | Twitter | Archive

Some of the NFL's biggest stars - its biggest African-American stars, at least - aligned late Thursday night in a powerful video that clearly resonated deep in the NFL's Park Avenue offices Their message, that Black Lives Matter, that racism and oppression is unacceptable, is obviously one everyone needs to hear.

But it was more than that. They had a pointed message for the league office. They challenged the NFL to do the right thing - the thing the league should have done four years ago when Colin Kaepernick first took a knee during the national anthem. They asked - demanded - the league to "admit wrong in silencing our players from peacefully protesting."

Remarkably, that's what NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell did, with his own video on Friday night. Though he didn't repeat the players' words exactly, he did "admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest." It was even more remarkable that his video came just hours after an inflammatory tweet from the President that again targeted players for kneeling during the national anthem.

This was Goodell's way of assuring the players that the league is on their side.

But as important as that is, more needs to be done - and surely Goodell understands he can do something bigger. So the next time a national anthem is played before an NFL game, he and every NFL owner should join the players in their peaceful protest.

Goodell and the entire league should take a knee.

This, of course, is usually where the anger comes in, where people like Saints quarterback Drew Brees channel their outrage about "disrespecting the flag." Except that it's never been about the flag or the anthem or the military. Kaepernick and the players who supported him couldn't have been clearer on that point - one they made publicly and privately to Goodell and every team owner in the league.

It was about what we're seeing now, every night on the streets of America. It was about what the world saw happen to George Floyd, being killed by a cop who spent nearly nine minutes with his knee on Floyd's neck, and so many black men and women who were victims before him. It was about the horrendous examples of police brutality we've all seen piling up on social media - disgusting acts on camera that should make everyone terrified of what happens when the cameras are off. And it was about shining a light on racial injustice and systematic racism that caused all this and is simply undeniable to anyone who is not willfully blind.

The NFL players' right to protest, which is an incredibly American act, was quashed by a league that effectively blackballed Kaepernick and "encouraged" its players to stand. They even made a rule that required them to stand, though they rescinded it under pressure two months later. The NFL likes to wrap itself in the flag and portray itself as an American institution, but it clearly only welcomed its own American ideals. And while their actions may not have been as destructive as, say, U.S. law enforcement tear-gassing peaceful protesters in front of the White House, but plenty of damage was still done.

It's true the NFL has actually done a lot of good in the years since Kaepernick knelt down. They created the Inspire Change Initiative which helps promote social justice and police community relations. As the NFL noted in a statement on Thursday, the league has already donated $44 million to organizations affiliated with the cause, and they are committed to $20 million more.

That matters and that is good, just like Goodell's video was good. But actions like that still ring hollow because they haven't atoned for their original sin. Ideally, they would do that by giving Kaepernick a job - on the field or even in the league office. But for whatever progress the NFL has made on these issues, there's just no sign anyone in the league will ever have the courage to do that.

So atonement is still necessary. And just imagine the powerful statement the NFL could make not only with the words "We're sorry. We were wrong" but with actions that prove they're sincere. Imagine how strong they would look if, on opening weekend players and coaches and owners and even Goodell all gathered at midfield during the national anthems and took a knee together.

It would be a show of force more powerful than secret police roaming the streets. Undoubtedly some fans would revolt and disavow the sport, but so what? Maybe that's just the price of doing the right thing. The NFL, pre-COVID-19, was a $9 billion-a-year industry. They can withstand what almost certainly would only be a few hollow threats from disgruntled fans.

Yes, the NFL still needs to do even more than even that. Their history of minority hiring, especially among general managers and head coaches, is atrocious and feels like it's getting worse. They need more diversity in ownership and in the league office. In that respect, they're not unlike the rest of our nation. We all need to do better and do more.

Maybe the kneeling, like the apology, would only be symbolic, but what a great symbol it would be. It would be an important start. And if nothing else, it would be a way to show they listened to Saquon Barkley, Jamal Adams, Odell Beckham Jr., Patrick Mahomes, and all the other players on that video. It would show that they heard Kaepernick, too, that they really were listening, not just dismissing their concerns.

It would say to the players and the world "We hear you. And now we see it, too." It would show even the biggest bullies in the country, and even those in government, that they choose to stand with their players on the right side of history and humanity.

And what better way to stand with them than by taking a knee while the anthem plays?

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Roger Goodell admits NFL should've listened to players, but it's time for the league to take a knee - SNY.tv