NFL Commits $250 Million To Battle Systemic Racism

Last week, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell issued a statement in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, which many believed was empty considering the league’s history with peaceful protesting against police brutality. Now, the NFL is reportedly putting some pretty big money forward to combat systemic racism.

According to Judy Batista of NFL.com, the league is teaming up with players to create a program for criminal justice reform, as well as fiscal education. An anonymous source close to the league says the NFL is willing to partner up with Colin Kaepernick, who was forced out of the league following his decision to kneel in protest during the National Anthem.

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“We wouldn’t be where we are today without the work Colin and other players have led off,” the source said. “That is a key point here. We listened to our players. We needed to listen more, we needed to move faster. We heard them and launched a social justice platform because of what Colin was protesting about. The players have always been an essential piece of this effort and this campaign. It would be awesome to engage Colin on some of the work we are doing. He’s doing real impactful work. Getting him in some way would be amazing for us. There’s a lot of work to do to get to that point. We’re certainly open and willing to do that.”

On Thursday, the NFL announced it’s pledging $250 million to the cause over a 10 year period. Via social media, they issued a statement on the matter.

Spending $250 million over 10 years amounts to $781,250 per team per year. Hopefully this is just the beginning of their work to combat racism moving forward.