Judging by the NFL’s primetime social justice awareness special from September 9, it’s clear that the league has completely capitulated to the demands of Black Lives Matter and the radical left.
It already sounded bad when the league announced that it would be putting on an hour-long social justice PSA the night before the 2020 season’s opening game. And of course, the special, called “Inspire Change” was as bad and pandering as anyone could expect, perhaps worse.
From the outset of the primetime NBC special, with host Queen Latifah’s opening monologue about America’s racial reckoning, it was clear that the NFL had bought into the lies put out by the Black Lives Matter movement, that “peaceful protesting” outfit started by your friendly, self-described Marxist neighbors.
Latifah began by saying, “This season is deeper than football. We’ve all seen black Americans killed and subjected to violence and racism all over America. We’ve seen the protests, we’ve seen the marches and we’ve heard the rhetoric.”
Of course, there was no more nuance to the narrative than that. The unfortunate killing of George Floyd or the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha could never be seen as tragic situations where impulsive cops acted in frustration towards men resisting arrest. In the eyes of Latifah and the cowering NFL, they were unequivocal acts of violence towards decent citizens based on their skin color.
Of Floyd, Latifah said he “was a football player growing up. He had big dreams, he had a big family, he had plans! And all those things were taken from him…” Yes, he was a model citizen whose history of criminal activity and drug-fueled resisting of arrest somehow translate into him being a martyr. “George Floyd’s murder wasn’t just a flashpoint, it was a turning point,” the host added, though shouldn’t we hold off on “murder” until the legal process works a bit?
Presenting it as such, the host justified the unrest and destruction that ensued after the death of George Floyd: “Make no mistake the anger we see right now is real. It comes from pain. Too much pain for too long. The urgency of this moment is real. It’s time to stand up.”
Latifah mentioned it’s time to “Inspire change” and viewers got to see a video montage of moments from the civil rights era mixed with images of former San Francisco 49ers Quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeling and scenes from Black Lives Matter rallies. Audio for the segment even featured one man yelling, “Black power!” as if that had become OK now.
Latifah then moved into how the league has addressed the “racial injustice” that has been a “long part of American history,” and of course this turned to a glowing appraisal of former San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick. The host described Kaep’s protest as a “gesture of extraordinary resonance” which was fully realized after the “summer of turmoil” following the death of George Floyd, when more players in the league jumped on the BLM bandwagon.
The rest of the segment then turned into an airing of various proposals by the league to address “systemic racism.” The special featured an interview with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who promised that he and other team owners have been “buying in” to social justice and inclusivity training.
Goodell also touted that the league would have some weapons-grade virtue signals at the games this year, promising that each field’s end zones will be painted with “End Racism” and “It Takes All of Us,” respectively. In addition players will also be able to display decals featuring the names of “victims of police brutality.”
The apologetic commissioner also touted the NFL’s new voting initiative dedicated to educating and registering voters, as he claimed that is probably the biggest vehicle for change that Americans have. Ah, yes Robert, doing your part to get the orange man out of office is probably the most important thing you could do for the cause of social justice.
Sure enough, the end of the hour was devoted to pointed messages of getting out and voting for change this November. Arizona Cardinals Wide Receiver Larry Fitzgerald Jr. read an essay on the importance of voting, especially to enact change in African American communities, and Queen Latifah even closed out the evening by saying, “Be sure to vote in November.”
This is sports now.
