NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is being slammed for a statement he issued Saturday in response to the death in police custody of George Floyd and the protests that have followed across the country.
Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died Monday after being handcuffed and pinned to the ground by a white Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes. Chauvin and three other officers involved in detaining Floyd were fired Tuesday. Chauvin was arrested Friday and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
Goodell’s statement addressed Floyd and two other African Americans whose deaths earlier this year have sparked widespread outrage, Breonna Taylor in Kentucky and Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia.
“The NFL family is greatly saddened by the tragic events across our country,” Goodell said Saturday, five days after Floyd’s death. “The protesters’ reactions to these incidents reflect the pain, anger and frustration that so many of us feel.”
The statement continued: “As current events dramatically underscore, there remains much more to do as a country and as a league. These tragedies inform the NFL’s commitment and our ongoing efforts. There remains an urgent need for action. We recognize the power of our platform in communities and as part of the fabric of American society.”
‘Shame on you’
Goodell’s statement drew swift rebukes.
Houston Texans wide receiver Kenny Stills had a pointed response: “Save the bulls—.”
Director Ava DuVernay, an ardent critic of the NFL, said the statement was hollow and disingenuous.
“Shame on you. This is beyond hollow + disingenuous,” she tweeted. “This is a lie. Your actions show who you are. You’ve done nothing but the exact opposite of what you describe here. Keep Mr. Floyd’s name out of your mouth. Shame on you + the ‘consultants’ of this travesty of an organization.”
Michael Shawn-Dugar, a writer for The Athletic, said, “Colin Kaepernick asked the NFL to care about the lives of black people and they banned him from their platform.”
Author Don Winslow said Goodell’s statement was laughable.
“I love pro football. But this message from the @NFL is completely RIDICULOUS. It’s laughable on its face,” Winslow tweeted. “A group of billionaire white guys who destroyed @Kaepernick7’s career and punished and hurt the careers of black players protesting have no credibility to send this message.”
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Kaepernick, who played for the San Francisco 49ers, began kneeling through the national anthem before NFL games in 2016 to protest racial inequality and police brutality against people of color.
In February 2019, Kaepernick and a former teammate, Eric Reid, reached a settlement with the NFL, which they had accused of colluding to keep them out of the league.
Reid was the first player to kneel with Kaepernick to protest social injustice in 2016. Kaepnernick has not been signed by any team since he left the 49ers after the 2016 season. Reid has continued to play.
In response to an inquiry, the NFL told NBC News in a statement Sunday: “We would point you to our ongoing Inspire Change social justice effort which works closely with players and clubs and our partners at The Players Coalition and NFLPA. One of the key pillars of the work is improving community and police relations and criminal justice reform.”
The statement said Goodell “has also spent time working directly with players and law enforcement officials in their communities to understand the issues and identify areas where we can help bridge the relationship.”
CEO of San Francisco 49ers also faces criticism
Jed York, CEO of the 49ers, also came under scrutiny Saturday. York announced in a statement Saturday night, amid nationwide protests, that the team will donate $1 million to “local and national organizations who are creating change.”
“People throughout our country are hurting,” York said. “Emotions are raw, and rightfully so. Heinous acts have been committed in recent weeks. Before we are able to realize impactful change, we must first have the courage and compassion as human beings to come together and acknowledge the problem: black men, women, children and other oppressed minorities continue to be systematically discriminated against.”
York added that the team “is committing to support the legislative priorities of the Players Coalition,” an organization founded by NFL players in 2017 to oppose social injustice and racial inequality.
Reid responded in a tweet: “Nobody wants your money Jed. We want justice. We’ve always wanted justice. Y’all are truly diluted.”
He also said York “begged” him not to kneel.
In subsequent tweets, Reid said, “One day y’all will realize that truth and justice are the answer.
“I see that a lot of y’all think that it takes money to get justice. It does not. It takes money to facilitate injustice. Justice is easy, the system chooses not to give it,” Reed tweeted Saturday night.
York did not immediately return a request for comment Sunday.
In 2018, the NFL announced that it would fine players who did not stand during the national anthem or they could choose to remain in the locker room without penalty. The policy was shelved months later.
President Donald Trump had praised the policy but said it did not go far enough.
Former NFL executive Joe Lockhart said “now is the moment to sign” Kaepernick.
“I was wrong. I think the teams were wrong for not signing him,” he wrote in an op-ed published Saturday by CNN. “Watching what’s going on in Minnesota, I understand how badly wrong we were.”
Lockhart said Kaepernick became the symbol of black men being treated differently than white men in America.
“That symbol of racial injustice was reinforced every day that Colin sat on the outside of the football world,” Lockhart wrote. “It may have seemed like a good business decision for the clubs to not sign him, and it certainly wasn’t illegal, but it was wrong.”
Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, responded to Lockhart’s op-ed.
“Actually now is the moment for Roger Goodell to step to a microphone and offer a full and complete apology to Mr. Kaepernick,” Ifill tweeted Saturday. “To announce his commitment to supporting Mr. Kaepernick’s charities. And to signing Mr. Kaepernick to an NFL team.”