The 2020 NFL season is slated to start in less than three months. There’s two major backdrops to the start of the campaign. One being the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and the other representing an era of racial divide in the United States.
NFL players set to protest during the national anthem this season
As one star New England Patriots player pointed out, players will take part in widespread protests supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and looking to enact change when it comes to racial inequality and police brutality in the United States.
Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti is now backing his players’ right to protest in a big way, sending a statement in the process.
NFL’s stance on the Colin Kaepernick-led protests changes
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell released a video statement late last week admitting that the league mishandled the Kaepernick-led protests that started back in 2016. He’s also fully supportive of the Black Lives Matter movement and the right to protest.
The NFL has backed this up by committing to donate $250 million over the next decade to combat “systemic racism,” as the league calls it, in the United States. The league is also going to close its office on Juneteenth as a way to celebrate the end of slavery in this country.
Steve Bisciotti’s comments are rather interesting
NFL owners tend to lean right of the aisle when it comes to politics. Very few have in the past come out in support of the protests and Black Lives Matter movement. That’s changed to an extent as the current public sentiment is largely in favor of both entities.
As it relates to the longtime Ravens owner, he’s given to both Democrats and Republicans in recent years. He’s not necessarily political in that regard. Though, the demographics and politics of Baltimore itself suggests that Bisciotti’s comments will be well received.