The New Orleans Saints open the regular season against the Tampa Bay Bucs in less than two weeks. It’s a game that will feature two of the top quarterbacks in the history of the NFL: Drew Brees and Tom Brady! There will be no fans in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome when Brees and Brady play, but many will be watching and celebrating the moment that our disrupted world takes another step toward normalcy.
But as excited as many will be – there will be many football fans who will be disgusted. The NFL announced specific plans for promoting social justice in the wake of the death of George Floyd and other unarmed black men. The latest spark to racial tension in America came after Jacob Blake, a black male, was shot multiple times in the back during an arrest attempt in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The NFL announced that, replacing the names of the two teams playing, end zones will have the phrases “End racism” and “It takes all of us.” The visual of those phrases in the end zones is sure to quell the excitement of many fans who tune in to see the NFL back in action.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said that “The NFL stands with the black community, the players, clubs and fans confronting systemic racism.”
Additionally, the NFL will permit players to wear the names of victims of police brutality and racism on their helmets. Players can select names from a pre-approved list.
The passionate backlash against the NFL’s plans to promote social justice in America could only be based on the belief that there is no systemic racism in America. Since it would take a concerted effort to not see racial injustice on many levels – the resistance to accept the reality of racism must be born out of ignorance or fear. If dismissing racism in America is based on fear – then you have to wonder – what are people afraid of?
If fear is driving much of the resistance to accept the reality of racism – then we need to define what it is that so many people are afraid of. Are they afraid that they have been wrong and that racism is real? Are they unwilling to admit they were wrong? Or – could it be that dismissing the reality of racism is based on the fear that true equality will take something away from those who were born into a more equal world?
I believe there is an innate fear in many Americans who have not felt the brunt of discrimination based on skin color that equality will mean the loss of opportunity and status for them in society.
Today, on “CBS This Morning,” country music superstar Chris Stapleton said, “Do I think Black lives matter? Absolutely…I don’t know how you think they don’t.” Stapleton added, “I think everybody should be doing more.” He also said “I feel like the country that I thought that we were living in was a myth.”
When acknowledgment of the Black Lives Matter slogan is accepted by members of a music genre traditionally tied to conservatism – then we should all pause and question the continuing denial that racism is real.
As for the NFL – many Saints fans and football fans across the country will cringe at the thought of teams’ names being replaced with words promoting social justice. But the big question is why are those individuals so opposed to the concept of equality in America?