PC in the NFL stands for "political correctness" and the "Players Coalition," a group of current and former players who shook down the league to the tune of $90 million for social justice activism. The Players Coalition is charging that coronavirus testing is not available in minority communities and announced it's planning to expand its social justice outreach to address disproportionate rates of African Americans suffering and dying from COVID-19.
"The sobering statistics hit home with Anquan Boldin," retired NFL player and a leading activist in the Players Coalition, writes USA Today's Jarrett Bell, himself an ardent race baiter. "In one U.S. city after another, African Americans are dying from COVID-19 at a disproportionate rate." The underlying reason for these health woes? Of course, it's decade upon decade of racism in America. That's becoming a frequent narrative of the left.
“The testing is not available for minority communities, especially where I come from,” said Boldin, a Florida native who counts several relatives among the infected. Attempts to secure tests "have been unsuccessful as have they been around the country for many people." Bolden implies higher rates of COVID-19 among blacks are proof of racism:
“And then I’m seeing the numbers from places like Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore ... (a disproportionate number) of the deaths are people of color.” Up to 70 percent of the deaths in Louisiana are African American, writes Bell.
Boldin wanted to do something about the racial demographics of the pandemic in the U.S., so he brainstormed with fellow Players Coalition members Kelvin Beachum, Josh Norman and Josh McCown.
As Bell explains it, "They quickly decided to support COVID-19 relief efforts, and in the process, provided another way to define the 'social justice' mission the organization was founded on."
The NFL, always at the ready to support social justice activism, quickly jumped on board. Through its “Inspire Change” platform and the Players Coalition, the league donated $3.05 million to support COVID-19 relief efforts in communities of color through 34 organizations in seven markets. Recipients of the donation from the Players Coalition and NFL include hospitals, health systems and nonprofit organizations in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Florida and Louisiana.
“This is a little bit outside the scope of social justice, but in the overall aspect of it, it’s caring for people,” Boldin said. “For me, that’s what social justice is, that’s what police-community relations is, that’s what educational equality is. For me, it’s all about people, making sure that people are taken care of, especially those who don’t have the voice, who don’t have the resources, making sure they get what they need. That’s what it’s all about.”
The COVID-19 crisis is just more light shining on America's racial inequality, too, says Boldin, casting suspicion on issues existing in the black community “for as long as I’ve been alive.” Some in mainstream America are ignoring societal disparities and contributing factors, he claims:
“It exposes everything we’ve already known. You talk about health care in minority communities, we know there’s a lack of healthcare available to us. People get turned away. People have pre-existing conditions. Then I think about it from an educational standpoint. You can go on and on. And those things are happening without COVID.”
Us? In his 14 NFL seasons, while reaping millions of dollars in salary, Boldin never lacked for health care.
The USA Today story is an example of COVID-19-inspired accusations of racism spilling over onto the sports pages. An Associated Press story by Kat Stafford, Meghan Hoyer and Aaron Morrison notes that "leaders are demanding a reckoning of the systemic policies they say have made many African Americans far more vulnerable to the virus, including inequity in access to health care and economic opportunity."
Though many states have not yet reported on the racial demographics of COVID-19 victims, activists, political figures — and now athletes — are pressing officials for racial data on coronavirus victims, and "also to outline clear strategies to blunt the devastation on African Americans and other communities of color," AP reports.
“It’s America’s unfinished business — we’re free, but not equal,” shakedown artist Rev. Jesse Jackson told the AP. “There’s a reality check that has been brought by the coronavirus, that exposes the weakness and the opportunity.”
